


Living for Today

by poprockie



Series: A Step to Tomorrow [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Ace is Not Good With Feelings, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Dysfunctional Family, F/F, F/M, Families of Choice, Family Feels, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicidal Thoughts, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Major Original Character(s), Mental Health Issues, Mild Language, Nakamaship, Original Character-centric, Portgas D. Ace-centric, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Canon, Slow Burn, Unreliable Narrator, When I say slow burn I mean absolutely glacial, currently in the grand line, just left the east blue, lots of feelings and gaining trust, panic attacks & anxiety attacks, slow updates due to length of chapters, the kids are truamatized, way more than i intended but im not complaining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:07:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 292,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22075948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poprockie/pseuds/poprockie
Summary: A little bit of luck goes a long way, especially once you know how to use it. She’s been dealt a nasty hand, following a Captain with one foot in the grave, and every gambler has to learn when to cut their losses.But a victor knows how to stack the deck in their favor.[Follows the creation of the Spade Pirates, their journey from the East Blue, to the Grand Line, and onwards. Cross-posted from FF.net.]
Relationships: Original Characters & Original Characters, Portgas D. Ace & Original Characters, Portgas D. Ace/Original Female Character(s)
Series: A Step to Tomorrow [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2032621
Comments: 166
Kudos: 158
Collections: Time Travel and World Travel





	1. Prologue; Romance Dawn: And With A Bang, She Took A Bite!

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this story years ago and wanted to write it years before, it's a simple concept but one I immensely enjoy writing. This is one of my first fics and my first longfic in the One Piece fandom. It's an OC perspective on the creation of the Spade Pirates, following an original journey from East Blue to the Grand Line and further, based on the incredibly small amount of information I had on the Spade Pirates at the time. Because of this, some things are different and some things are the same.
> 
> When I first started writing this fic my writing style was very different from what it is now, and while I have gone through to edit it to a more... reasonable display of my abilities there are still some things I would have changed and some that I believe its too late to. And so, I hope that you all will give this story a chance to grow.

It began with a bang.

A shattering noise that had her throwing her hands up to cover her ears and shrieking at the sheer amount of sounds reverberating through her skull. Whatever aches and injuries were pushed aside in favor of shutting her eyes and retching out pain filled moans and screams. The cacophony leaving her mind swaying and tears running down her face.

It was- decidedly, _not a good day._

"Aaarrg-!" Yeah, that was her. Letting out such a pitiful moan that it would make even serial killers wince in sympathy.

"Who is that?!" Voices screamed and, had she been more aware, she wouldn't have accidentally ended up elbowing somebody in the face. But, no, the fact of the matter was, she wasn't doing anything but squirming around on the ground in something akin to seizures. Any hands that came close were snapped away by her teeth, fingernails or struggle, and whoever was around her had to step back a fair distance in her ensuing chaos.

The noise seemed to wane in her head for one long last eternal moment before the assault finally subsided and she was left; a deafening numbness that throbbed and pulsated. Alive.

"Huh?" And she stared up at the sky.

This was not a good day.

...

...

"So what's your name?"

He looked up from his papers, fiddling with his pen. The room was a cluttered mess and the woman standing before him was letting her eyes roam around listlessly. The days since she first arrived had long since passed but the ravenette had failed to insert herself into the village properly or leave.

So here she was.

"Quinn." She answered quickly, sharply, and he had to scowl at her. "Um… You're Roddie, right? The doctor said you had a job opening…"

She was mumbling. A quiet noise that he had to strain his ears to hear.

How annoying…

Quinn shifted from foot to foot at the attention that was suddenly focused on her. The room felt claustrophobic, and a tightness settled in her limbs, not doing anything to help her sudden anxiety.

He narrowed his eyes at her, face scrunching up. "Greeeaaat…" He drawled, "You're the new chick aren't you?"

Roddie tilted back in the chair, hands hooked behind his head and feet resting on his desk. Quinn wrinkled her nose, trying to curb the sudden sharp, uncontrollable annoyance that pierced through her at his amusement.

"'...Yeah?"

"Freaking weird look you got on your face." He pointed out. Tactfully. "Looks like you've been through quite a bit. Get any sleep recently?" He flicked a finger under his own eye. Successfully bringing her attention to the dark rings that had begun to circle around her eyelids.

She snorted. Like he was one to talk about being a disaster.

Roddie had blue hair, a nice distracting color that looked like it would fit in well among crayons. And, while combed, still looked like a mess. His jeans were faded and worn, his boots clunky and stained, and the cleanest part of him was the crisp white uniformed shirt with the Marine crest on the breast and even that was rumpled and old looking. He didn't look like the kind of guy that was trustworthy.

She chewed on her lips bitterly, the skin cracked, bleeding, and sensitive, but it didn't stop her from continuing. "Yeah…"

"Is that all you can say?" He raised a brow.

Quinn noted that, unlike his hair, it was a dull shade of brown. So, not natural like it had looked at first glance- weird. There was a few people on this island with hair just the same crazy coloring as his, only they vehemently attested to it being natural when she asked. One had even sworn at her, calling her an idiot.

(It had been the Doctor. He was an ass.)

"Now, tell me," he tapped the tip of his pen to his temple, "what's your full name? You won't get anywhere being picky with what you tell people."

"Varela." She scowled. "Quinn Varela. How bout you tell me what your real name is then? I seriously doubt that Roddie is it."

"Rude much. Somebody's snappy." He chuckled, grin on his face. "Hey, you're the one coming to me for a job."

She huffed at the reminder. Her time on Saigen was a mess of confusion and the desperate need to do something distracting. Since her impromptu arrival her days had been spent being nursed back to health by a small cranky doctor with a hunchback.

Busying herself by retching out her lungs, all the while her body decided it didn't want to be alive and dealt out pain every waking moment. Particularly around her neck.

She rubbed the aforementioned appendage lightly.

"So…" He rocked back and forth, "What can you do?"

She found herself shrugging, lips pressed together in a thin line. "Whatever I need to. I guess." Her hands dropped lifelessly to her sides. Roddie paused, running a hand through his hair, and gave her a look-

"You don't actually know what I do here, do you?" He deadpanned.

It was more of a statement than a question. And at first she didn't answer, thinking it rhetorical, but after a long and awkward staring contest, where she fiddled with the ends of her sleeves, she awkwardly answered.

"Not-" She coughed into her shoulder, a stinging running through her chest and around her neck.

"Not really." Quinn admitted. "After I… dropped onto the island, you could say… the village doctor just kinda… tossed me over here? I guess because he figured out that I couldn't pay him anything and my injuries were healed enough that he didn't have to do much more."

"Of course he did."

Roddie groaned audibly and waved a hand at her.

"Don't tell me more, I don't want to hear it. Damn it, this is just like him!" Roddie seethed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I run a mail station here, in the East Blue… The East Mail! I take care of messages and figure out where they need to be sent. From the South to the North, to the Grand Line or even the New World. So long as it needs somewhere to go or is sent here I make sure it goes right where it needs to." The explanation was quick and short. Said with a sort of sarcastic flamboyance.

A moment later he added in an afterthought, "The old man who used to run this place was struck down with double heart attacks and I took the job 'cause I needed to do something that would keep me away from prying eyes… I guess he got a great shock!"

"Double heart attacks…?" Quinn mused and was subsequently ignored.

"Of course they would throw you over here. The doctor is a money-grubber and this place is freaking horrible with new people…"

Quinn opened her mouth but closed it as he continued on rambling.

"Send me the crazy looking weirdo-" She fixed him under a purposeful glare. "-Because I'm technically the new guy, even though I've been stuck on this crap-hole East Blue Island half a year already. And I took over the stupid failing mail business because the Marines were too incompetent for anything that takes brains and the old guy died…! So, yeah, of course, they had to throw her at me!"

"I'm…" She felt like a scrap of unwanted paper. "I'm still here, ya'know?"

He waved her off, "Let me rant."

"Mn..." Both her eyebrows shot up. "Hmmm…?"

"I don't even have a job opening. I work better alone- it was always one of my study habits and this is no different." He pursed his lips, "But they're gonna make me take you just to get you out of their hair. And because you dropped out of nowhere and clearly have no idea what the hell is going on-"

She rolled her eyes and sat down on the floor, pushing litter out of the way with a wide sweep of her arms. She figured this was going to take awhile.

"Gosh. Shut up," Quinn pulled a face. "You whine a lot, don't you?"

He glanced down at her, incredulous. "Whatever Quinn. We both got screwed in this. Me much more so than you."

She disagreed, but whatever. She was the one currently sitting in a pile of garbage thank you very much. She would take the 'got properly screwed today' bragging rights off his hands joyfully. Even if only to throw it back in his face.

"Are you going to continue having a crisis or can I leave?" She thrust a thumb back over her shoulder at the door. It was rusted and looked like it was going to fall off its hinges if she so much as touched it. "Clearly, you're not going to hire me."

Maybe she could get an award for being the Master of Shitty Interviews to go along with her bragging rights.

He paused abruptly, thoughtful look coming over him, "You good at running a long time?"

"Yeah…? I used to run track and be crazy into parkour… why?"

Her body ached just thinking about it. The running and thrill was fun, the bruises… not so much.

"Then congrats! I have a use for you. One that'll keep you out of my hair and make a mess of the islanders," he seemed to swoon at the thought, hands clasping together tightly. "You're my new gofer."

There was a long pause. She was unsure if she had heard correctly.

".. _.gofer_."

"Or courier, if you prefer." He shrugged, grinning. "But the title doesn't really matter. You'll basically only be running deliveries all day and that's about it. Nice, sweet, simple, and keeps you out of my way and thrown into others. The Marines have plenty of crap they want carried and, being unfortunately considered part of their organization at the moment, I can just get you to do it! This is a supply island after all."

Quinn found herself rolling her eyes, "So, great! I get to be the one to do your chores because you're too lazy to do them, is that right?"

He stared at her blankly.

Quinn raised an eyebrow when he waved his hand in the air, "Psh-nawww~ That's not it."

"Sure not."

Roddie ignored her, "Congrats, gofer, you got the job."

Quinn ran a hand over her face, "Don't call me that."

"Well, maybe, just a thought, you shouldn't talk back to your boss."

As if to add onto the fact, he repeated it with a sneer, " _Gofer._ "

...

...

Quinn realized, coming to a sudden halt and practically throwing a package at someone's face, that there was probably something wrong with her.

Fundamentally. Not having to do with the chronic neck pain and the standard issues that she was used to dealing with. There was just something wrong with how quickly she had jumped into work on an island that she had never heard of before and gone on without much of a thought as to where she was or what was actually happening.

There was just so much... wrongness. Everywhere she stepped, she was overwhelmed with an immense feeling of the world just _not being right._

And she had just gone on with her life, despite it.

Just an overall lack of caring. And awareness.

She felt like there was a word for it. But she couldn't put her finger on it exactly.

"You damn bi-" Oh, she was being cursed out. That was fun.

She sighed. What she would give for some good noise canceling headphones right now. Yeah, that would be wonderful. It'd fit right in. Wasn't like she paid attention to anything going on around her anyway.

Wonderful.

...And this guy was still making noise.

Geez. Did he even breath?

"I'll tell your boss about this!"

"Sorry." She mumbled loosely, eyeing the shattered parcel on the ground by their feet. It hadn't had fragile written on it anywhere so it wasn't like it was her fault.

"Good luck with that. He won't care."

He'd probably get a good laugh out of it in all honesty. Roddie made it a point to piss people off or poke fun, especially with the Marines. He seemed to have some extreme passive aggressiveness towards them and spent his time making everything as difficult as possible, and the islanders were often caught in the middle of the war.

Actually, her eye twitched, when she last saw him, just that morning, she had walked in on him carefully looking over papers and pictures of misshapen fruit and, when she'd asked, his response to it had been: "Just forging documents. Nothing too illegal. Wouldn't ask any more if I were you, otherwise they could get you for conspiracy or something. You should try and keep your plausible deniability." Which she had shrugged at. It didn't sound like he was lying either.

Oh, complete apathetic indifference. That was the word she was looking for.

The guy turned beet red.

"Sayonara." And she left before he could so much as send another curse her way.

Quinn sighed. She had been doing that a lot lately.

The jog was easy enough and, in fact, a quiet thrum of exuberance resonated through her lungs. Even her legs, which had initially ached throughout the first week working for Roddie, seemed to bounce under step with a renewed giddiness that she hadn't felt in a long, long time. The job was… healthier for her than she would admit. But, while the running and exercise was great and did wonders, she was much, much, _much_ less enthusiastic about the people. Case in point the guy running after her.

"Get back over here! You owe me for that package you destroyed-" he shouted, "I expect repayment!"

She gritted her teeth, "Go- _away!_ "

This island was not happy with her presence. And, well, she couldn't exactly blame them.

She rounded a corner.

"AH!"

"- _gy_ eh!"

There was groaning and grunting. And pain.

It felt like she had just run face first into a wall.

"Well, that was rude!" A voice, high pitched and loud, announced.

Quinn winced as her elbow dug sharply into the ground, scraping against the concrete. Her hoodie now covered in dust and dirt as she slammed down. "Damn it…" She muttered. That was going to sting later.

"You okay there?"

"Well, I'm being chased. So yeah. Might as well call it an okay day."

Brown hair cut in a bob, dark eyes and contrasting bright clothes that blinded and grated on her eyes. She stood with her hands on her hips, lips pursed and her cheeks puffed out. Looking as if she was about to give a damn lecture. Quinn couldn't help but shoot the woman she had plowed into an incredulous stare.

She was built like a rock wall if she hadn't so much as budged.

"Aren't you…?" The woman stopped short, mouth closing before opening again, looking curious.

"Aren't I…?" She returned dryly.

There was blood on her knees and her leggings had been ripped. Great. There went her only pair of proper clothes.

"HEY! Where'd you go-?!"

And that guy was still on her tail!

"What the-"

Before she could so much as begin to pick herself up off the ground a hand was wrapping around her bicep and shoving her into the space between a fence and a building. Her exclamation was cut short by the heavy breathing of the guy rushing by in a hurry and the woman blocking her view with her own body. A few moments passed and the brunette stepped away, letting her crawl out and blink in confused surprise.

"I- thanks?"

She went ignored.

"Ooh~ that was the bar owner. He has temper issues." She laughed, incredibly loud. "That must have been scary."

Quinn, again, didn't even get to move.

She was already in her face.

"Uhhhh-"

"Anyways, I'm Dahlia! It's nice to meet you!"

It sounded like she was almost screaming - her voice boomed and reached high octaves that Quinn would liken to shrieks over a normal speaking tone. The woman didn't seem to be aware of her own noise though, clearly she had been born with an outdoor-voice, and simply smiled like she was the happiest person in the world.

"Sorry," she winced. "And-Uh… yeah… nice to meet… you too."

Quinn finished lamely.

"So why was he after you?"

"...He didn't catch his package and it broke."

"Do you make a habit of destroying your clients stuff?" Dahlia mused, "Because, if you do, that doesn't sound like a rockin' business deal, not for the customers at least. Maybe not for you either- unless you got some wicked sadistic side and get off on that sort of thing." She pursed her lips, tapping her chin.

"...I don't think so."

"Like Roddie!"

"No. _Definitely_ not."

Dahlia laughed. Not believing her for even a second. "No wonder all the others talk about you behind your back!"

Quinn made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a grumble.

"Oh? How nice."

Somebody was shouting again. Probably the guy with the temper.

"I wouldn't say so! It sounds really mean," Dahlia frowned, "What are you? An idiot?'

She stared.

"... _no_."

"What's your name by the way? Vallie? Ella?"

"Quinn Varela."

"Oh, I was close!"

No. No she was not.

"So, Varela, how's Saigen been treating you so far? Besides the obvious!"

The obvious being the guy with the temper.

Quinn dusted herself off. "Just swell."

And the shouting was getting louder and louder. It was beginning to become pretty bothersome too. She narrowed her eyes, looking over Dahlia's head, yeah, something was definitely going on over there. "Is that... normal?"

"Hm?" Dahlia turned her head, "What?"

She chewed on her lip distractedly, face scrunching up. It… looked like a fight?

At the point where her vision began to blur- and, yes, she probably needed glasses- she could make out a large group, or rather, _two_ large groups who seemed to be in the middle of what looked like a full-blown turf war. Marines on one side, she guessed because white uniforms weren't all that common outside that line of work, and what looked to be the most sorry bunch of stereotypical pirates she had ever had the displeasure of seeing. A few even had feathers and plumes coming out of their hats.

"Damn, I think I really need glasses." She rubbed at her eyes. Either that or she was going crazy...

"Oh no…" Dahlia moaned, cupping the side of her cheek. "What is it now that's got them wrecking even more havoc?"

"Does this happen often?" She asked, voice incredulous and wincing when she caught sight of the downed forms of a few people. Quinn pointedly ignored the screams and groaning.

"Mn."

Dahlia seemed to wilt, her once cheerful disposition falling away to a sort of weariness that didn't suit the smile-lined face. "It started quite a few months ago. Maybe half a year or so? We think they're just fighting to fight."

Quinn blinked at the explanation, taking a deep breath in through her nose.

"That's a…" she feels her mouth pull tight, "A lame reason."

"Heh- Yeah, let's just hope we don't get caught in the crossfire."

"...I kinda need to go that way."

"...Me too."

Great.

Yeah, her lack of interest for this whole situation was far outweighing her sense of self-preservation at the moment.

"We could just walk by them?" Quinn tried.

"Won't that get us killed though?"

"They seem pretty preoccupied with each other. It's not like we're their target."

Dahlia eyed her thoughtfully before nodding. "Alright, let's go!"

Quinn made a face as Dahlia tugged her along by the wrist. She couldn't help but grumble under her breath, taking a moment to watch the groups as they shuffled on by. Now that she was getting a good look on things the fighting was more of a tumbling match than an actual sword fight- Honestly, she saw at least three people trip over their own shoelaces within the first ten seconds of her staring. It was awkward and centered around something that she couldn't quite make out.

Well, not until she managed to pull her head out of whatever delirium it was in and actually focused for once.

"Are…" she paused, incredulous, "Are they fighting over a box?"

That was less surprising than she thought it would be. Still, terribly disappointing.

"How-" she grimaced, _"Stupid."_

Her hatred for humanity slowly increasing aside, well, Quinn really didn't want to know what was so great about some box that got people in the streets fighting each other for it. She clenched her hands together, very nearly throwing her head back with the force of her groan; was this really what she had been thrown into?

How sucktastic.

"I don't care!" Dahlia declared loudly, a quirk of hers that Quinn was beginning to notice and quickly deciding it was aggravating. She was just… real loud. "So long as their attention is not on us- or any of the natives- it's just fine!"

Quinn agreed easily enough, "If nobody gets it in their head to play hero or whatever then everything should be okay. They'll probably stop once one side runs off with the box or everybody's dead." Dahlia flinched at her bluntness. Despite that, she didn't backtrack, instead continuing with the same dry tone, "Either way it's pretty much a win-win for us, in the end. If they just kill each other then we won't have to worry about anymore fights breaking out, ya' know?"

She snorted to herself.

Well, she was trying to look at the bright side of the situation at least. For once.

Though she seriously doubted they were actually any good at killing each other.

The moment one got punched in the face they were laid flat out on the ground squealing like kicked puppies and it wasn't like anybody was going in and finishing anybody off while they were out of commission.

Quinn flinched at her own line of thought. Okay- so maybe she really did have a sadistic side.

"You are… scary, Varela." Dahlia shivered, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side."

Quinn made a vaguely offended noise.

As they inched by Dahlia whispered, "Are you sure about this?"

"Not at all. But I mean," she quickly retracted when Dahlia's mouth fell open, "it's not like some kid is gonna run over and start antagonizing them."

"Ah- haha, yeah. That would be silly."

Of course, the world had to go and ruin everything.

" _Hey_ , you!" Quinn felt her entire body stiffened at the sudden shout behind her.

Face frozen in the content smirk. "Yeah, I'm talkin' to you dum-dumb! Fight me now you cowards!"

The world had a cruel sense of humor.

_"Oh my god, this is actually happening right now."_

"A dumb kid appeared?!" Dahlia exclaimed in horror. "She's challenging the scoundrel's to a duel?!"

_"I jinxed us. I somehow, totally, and irrefutably jinxed us."_

Quinn facepalmed.

"You guys hurt my brother in your last fight!" A little girl in distractingly bright clothing on par with Dahlia's snapped. She couldn't be a day older than twelve. "And you destroyed his favorite book! That was our Uncles, y-you assholes!"

As one, the group turned to greet her. With less than happy faces.

The little girl flinched backwards, sent reeling, but remained rooted in her spot. Fists clenched awkwardly and thumbs tucked beneath her fingers- she didn't even know how to throw a punch properly and yet she was screaming at a group of grown men to fight her.

Feeling an incredible urge to roll her eyes Quinn groaned.

"What is this world?!" She exclaimed under her breath in a broken whisper. "Do you purposely raise imbeciles with no sense of self-preservation?" It wasn't like she was one to talk but- But she didn't act like _that!_

"Ah, what about what we're doing?"

"We don't _count._ " She growled. They were at least trying to mind their own business.

"Get out of here brat!" A marine hissed, frozen mid swing. And Quinn had to actually facepalm this time because- why the hell weren't they taking advantage of the fact that their enemies were distracted?! "You're gonna get yourself killed!"

One of the pirate-looking fellows gave a sleazy grin, walking over to the little girl with his hands on his hips, "C'mon. Why don't we indulge the little kiddie? Go on brat, throw a punch. I'll even give you a free shot!"

The girl stared up at him with wide frightened eyes.

And, in response, the hopeless girl got a determined look in her eyes, puffing up pridefully- as if she was even close to big and tough. "You. Stupid. Little. _Brat._ " She bit out sharply. The girl was an idiot.

"Ah-ah-" Dahlia tutted, looking like she was about to run forward, "Someone needs to- I need to- We need to- Somebody has to step in!"

The little girl raised her hand and punched him as hard as she could in the leg. The man laughed as she tore her hand back and whimpered loudly. Quinn groaned, it was from having held her fist wrong and ending up smashing her thumb beneath the force of her own hit. She looked to be holding back tears. The man's grin turned wicked.

"Alrighty, little kiddie, I think it's my turn now."

The girls mouth fell open and she curled backwards. "B-B-But-!"

He raised his fist and flung it downwards. The skin-on-skin contact leaving a bruise that was bound to stay for awhile. It looked painful, it _felt_ painful. Ow. "That must've hurt." Quinn said nonchalantly.

And her earlier realization came back to her in full blown force.

It did seem like there was something wrong with her. A big, fundamental problem with her personality. A kind of flaw that she was born with and had never grown out of. Mostly because her reaction was not to run ahead and help the kid, or to think about helping her, or anything of the sort. No. Her immediate reaction was to have an introspective session. Which said a lot actually.

She pursed her lips, looking at the sky.

It was blue. Of course it was. Seemed like a blue kind of day.

The kid wailed, holding onto her face, tears and snot running down her cheeks in a disgusting showmanship of just how much she could cry. Drops of blood smeared onto the dirt. The marines all looked on in horror at the sight. And yet, despite their so-called justice, they didn't appear to be running forward to offer any help anytime soon or even to lift a finger. No, instead they ducked their heads and shuffled their feet.

The sight sparked an annoying twinge of recognition.

" _Oh_ ," Quinn blinked coldly, her brow furrowing together. "Is that what I look like?"

She mused, why, wasn't that just pathetic?

"One for beating up kids, asshole?" Quinn called, and she barely withheld the shock at how steady and calm her voice sounded.

And then the shock that she had even spoken up at all hit like a train.

She cursed at herself. Of all days to be impulsive.

"What was that you…" he raised his head. "Oh, it's the foreigner chick! Come to try and play hero or something? Trying to make yourself look good, are you?" He spat out. Ooh, tough guy, isn't he? Even though he had flinched when the little girl punched him.

"Is the talking with a foot in your mouth a fetish or is this a new thing you're trying out?" She quipped.

Wow, that was... _terrible_.

Taunting was not her strong-suit.

"It's not a good look on you. Not that you would know what good looked like."

She stepped forward to drag the attention away from the still sniveling girl, even as every muscle in her body stiffened and bent under the focus. Ready to bolt the moment she got the chance. Oh god. What was she thinking? Biding her time. Just- trying not to look at the girl… don't look at the girl…

Shit! She glanced at her.

"Oh hey," she announced loudly- mocking Dahlia's voice while she was at it-and forced attention back on her, dragging the pirates gaze away from the girl. Just in time too, otherwise he would have seen the surprisingly stealthy Dahlia scurrying away with the girl under arm. As soon as Dahlia combat-rolled out of the scene, Quinn was stabbing a finger back in the direction of the box. "Look! The Marines are trying to get away with that box you guys so desperately want!"

Which, they weren't, they hadn't moved. But they didn't need to know that.

" _W_ ha-! Hey!" He shouted, "Stop them!"

Quinn slunk away before he could realize she was gone. Hiding away and letting out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. That went far better than she expected. Luck must be on her side today.

" _Varela_!"

"KE-!" The resulting scream was cut short.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

Dahlia certainly didn't sound sorry. She looked rather pleased with herself actually and was holding onto-

Quinn growled.

"You brought _her_ with you?!" The disgust dripped like acid from her voice.

The kid squeaked.

"Well what was I supposed to do?" Dahlia scowled back, "Drop her in a trashcan and tell her to be on her way?"

"Hell if I care!"

Dahlia narrowed her eyes at her thinly before replying cheekily. "Oh yeah- I bet you're actually a super softy on the inside, aren't you, Varela? You talk all that scary an' horrible stuff but you're secretly a teddy bear."

Her eye twitched. Quinn ignored the spew of bullshit, "Brat, you cool?"

The girl shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut.

"So long as you're not crying, you're fine." She pressed her lips together then, "And don't you _dare_ take that as an invitation to start making noise and bawling. You're lucky you weren't killed, you little shit, and you almost got us in trouble too. Hope you're proud of yourself."

Was she being petty? Probably. Was she currently seething with rage and not caring at this point? Most definitely.

Her apathy-streak had been ruined beyond repair.

The girl closed her mouth with a snap of her teeth grinding together.

Quinn peeked over the edge of their little hidey hole. Nothing more than a couple of barrels they had ducked behind. "Okay, it looks like they're distracted. We can probably make a run for it now and get the so-called 'kiddie' to the doctor." She was holding her arm. Her wrist and face bruised. Quinn wouldn't be surprised if she broke her thumb and twisted it.

Quinn didn't notice, or would care if she did, the way the girl flinched at the title of kiddie.

"Okay, let's go."

Dahlia and the girl hadn't moved still. They simply stared up at her with wide eyes.

"What-?"

That seemed to snap them out of their stupor.

"Well, chop chop!" She motioned with her hands, "Freaking move! Are we going or not?"

Dahlia jerked to her feet, pulling the girl along as they jogged away from the current battlefield. Kiddie stumbling with each step, sniffling all the way. Quinn grumbled under her breath, taking the brat under her arm and taking most of the weight off of her limp. She ignored the wide, glistening eyes staring up at her in something akin to admiration.

"Oh, thank goodness." Dahlia huffed, "I think we're gonna be okay now."

Quinn let out a light laugh at that.

"Kehehe~ Of course. I mean," she grinned widely for the first time in what felt like years, exhilarated. "It's not like the entire object of their attention is gonna fall directly into my hands and screw us all!"

_Oh._

There's the instant regret.

...

Ah, was she hit by a train? Because it sure as hell felt like that.

Quinn stared down at the broken box on the ground. Hands curled around the horrifying and odd fruit that remained, having been flung up into the air and directly down into her grip. Really, she should know better by now than to go around opening her big mouth. Once was a coincidence, twice was… damn it, whatever god there was must really have it out for her.

That 'got screwed' award definitely had her name on it.

She twitched, eyes casting away from the sky and down to her surroundings.

Or, rather, _cough,_ those who surrounded her.

"Give the fruit here girl!"

Scoundrels jeered and threatened. Marines pleaded and bribed. Quinn stood frighteningly still.

"Today. Today," she announced. "Is not a good day."

The swords in her face got dangerously close.

She turned to the nearest Marine, ignoring his outstretched hand trying to swipe the fruit away, "This is called a Devil Fruit, isn't it?"

A cold sheen of sweat seemed to cover him and he nodded numbly. Huh. The name tickled something in the recesses of her mind but she couldn't properly get a hold on it. Even though she was the one who said it. There was just... some thing keeping her from understanding. In fact, the whole island felt like it. Like there was something about the entire place that her mind just refused to comprehend. Overwhelming her with a sense of deja vu. And she was about done with the feeling. Really, she was about done with it all.

"Is it poisonous?"

He hesitated here, stuttering. "U-Um… w-we don't kn-know. I-It... could be?" He barely managed to squeak out.

His fellow marines eyes widened. And a blonde marine with a sick mask on, who just arrived at the scene, seemed to realize what she was going to do before even she did.

"Wait-"

"I see." She bobbed her head along, as if clearing up some grand revelation. Which, in some way, it did. "That's good enough for me then."

" _No!_ "

She eyed the fruit. "Well, I never did believe in second chances anyways."

And Quinn took a bite.


	2. Saigen I: Enter Portgas D. Ace! The Man Who... Should Not be Real!?

She paced.

Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth… back and forth…

"Damn it!" She cursed and kicked a rock, sending it flying across the room. "Enough with the back and forth already!"

Swiveling around she ground her teeth together and ignored the painful grind of her lip being caught and cut between them, chewing on the skin haplessly. Her stress levels and anxiety were through the roof and, she wiped her arm over her eyes to stop the tears that sprung forth, everything was just completely overwhelming. This was not…

She groaned and pressed a hand to her forehead, the pain bringing out a whimpered growl.

This was pathetic, really. She was pathetic.

"I really am aren't I…?" Quinn moaned.

Damn it. How did this even happen?!

She stopped chewing on her lip and let out a frustrated snarl, whipping around and kicking once again.

Which was a bad idea, by the way. "Ow! Ow… Ow…! Freaking… ow…!" She ended quietly with a whine, clutching onto her foot. "Why-!"

And she groaned. Because, honestly, this was all her fault.

All of it.

She collapsed to the concrete floor with a huff, flopping onto her back without a thought to the dirt or the bugs that were probably clinging to her hair by this point. The ceiling was just as dark and decrepit as the floor. To make matters worse there was a mysterious dark stain running up alongside the wall that Quinn really, really did not want to question.

She pressed her lips together into a thin line.

"Oh, look, little ol' Quinn Varela all by her lonesome," she mocked, borderline hysterical, "Again. Doesn't it always seem to come back to that, huh? It just does, doesn't it?"

She grabbed her hair and tugged harshly, cursing.

This whole situation was completely out of her depth. She'd have never thought she'd end up locked in a cage- and one they liked to call a jail cell. Quinn snorted. Yeah, right.

"You know…" Quinn jumped, eyes flinging wide open, "You're not doing yourself any favors by talking to yourself."

There was a moment of silence. Where she twisted around to see who had appeared before a sneer enveloped her face. Her eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.

"Oh, it's just you." She muttered darkly, disinterestedly.

She flipped back around and settled into her previous position. Only it was tense now, uncomfortable. She felt stiff and rumpled, as if a bucket of water had been dumped on her. Leaving her feeling stale and worse off. Quinn ignored the offended laugh, a fake noise that made her clench her fists together and bury her nails deep into her palm. In the back of her head, the pain registered as a comforting distraction.

"I missed you too," he called over, "You know it's your own fault that you were put here."

She did. But she wasn't about to admit that.

"Kindly." She drawled, "Fuck off."

Quinn raised her hand in a symbol that was thankfully cross-dimensional.

"Always with the language." He all but purred. "You would've been fine if you had just returned the fruit back to the Marines or, hell, even the pirates! My crew…" He paused, as if stumbling over his words, realizing the mistake. "Well, whatever. Not like you'll live long enough to tell anybody."

She paused, turning around. "Excuse me? What-?"

He looked guilty. And he pursed his lips and dragged a hand over his tan face, blue hair ruffled. "What did you expect? I had everything planned out and you just had to come in and ruin it all. Do you know how much of a pain it is sneaking into Marine Bases? Let me tell you, it's not as easy or as fun as one would think."

Was she missing something? She felt like she was grasping at straws here and none of them were the right one. "Ha-huh?" The question, that was more of a noise than anything, came out strangled.

"To be fair, I probably shouldn't have hired you in the first place, despite the doctor sending you my way. The ass. You were bound to get caught up in all of this eventually," he sighed, catching her eye with a hard look, "Why did you have to go and eat the Devil Fruit, huh? Real stupid thing you did there."

"I didn't know it was a Devil Fruit…!" Quinn hissed, pulling away. No. That wasn't right. She knew it was a Devil Fruit but, at the time, it hadn't exactly computed. "I was still… confused…"

She settled on the word after a long pause. It was probably the closest she could get to explaining without admitting that she was from an entirely different world and had been ripped away rather cruelly into this one. Her brain still felt rattled from the realization sometime after eating the damn-weird-disgusting fruit. Almost as if her brain was lagging a few weeks behind.

The fruit had cleared that up right quick.

And while it hadn't changed much initially… that was until the Marines came knocking at her door.

Quinn bit her lip. A pirates world… The One Piece world was just…

...and she was already getting a glance at how corrupt it was and how ready it was to take advantage of her.

"If the Marines got it first then I could have just bribed the Marine Captain... If my Crew managed to get it first then it would be easy making it look as if it was just another random Pirate attack…" He groaned under his breath. "This was supposed to be easy. Either way I would have gotten the Fruit and been rich!"

"What does that have to do with me?!" Quinn scowled at him, still feeling as if she was missing something. "So I ate the fruit. You can't get it back! Move on with your life instead of getting hung up over BS things like this… you didn't have to turn me into the Marines."

She threw up her hands and gestured around herself, "Look at this place. It's disgusting! I didn't even do anything illegal!"

"Once a Devil Fruit is eaten you can't get… it… back…?" He eyed her sharply, repeating what she'd said.

Quinn leaned away at a sudden foreboding, chewing on her lip once again.

Thoughts running a mile a minute before, with a dawning realization, her mouth formed a soft and near silent, "Oh…"

"Except…" Roddie leaned against the bars of the jail, "There is one way to get a Devil Fruit back."

She shrunk in on herself.

"You… wouldn't…?"

Roddie nodded, "The Marine Captain was promised a promotion for the exchange of the Devil Fruit to a Vice-Admiral a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, the Marines don't want a person. At least… this way, now that I've turned you in, I may be able to steal the fruit before any higher up gets here and I won't have any blood on my hands."

His allusion was not lost on her.

"You… had this all planned out…?" Quinn asked dumbly, tongue feeling twisted and heavy in her mouth.

A cold stone settled in the base of her stomach and left her feeling queasy and nauseous, as if she was going to vomit. Had Quinn been standing she was sure that she would have thrown a punch at him, even if bars were separating them. But instead her fingers scraped along the concrete and she tossed a handful of dust up at him. It had the opposite effect and what little breeze there was sent it puffing back into her face.

She coughed at the bout of bad luck.

"You…?!" She managed to grit out harshly, at a loss for words. "You- traitorous scumbag!"

"Yeah! I get called that a lot." He chirped abruptly and Quinn was given the most plastic printed look she had ever bore witness to. Everything about this man was fake! "But with you gone my Crew and I will be living the luxurious life with the money we can get from that fruit! I hear it's quite the expensive piece~"

Quinn was left sputtering in his wake.

"That's it…? You're just going to let them kill me," Quinn's face slowly scrunched upwards and her brow furrowed downward, eyes cold. "Just like that? No…"

Roddie paused in step, shooting her a cursory glance over his shoulder. Quinn stopped chewing on her lip to grasp the bars and pull back into a sneer. Angry, pissed. An obsessive fire promising death. He decided that he didn't like that look. It fit a little too well on her normally apathetic face and sent a shiver running up his spine.

"You're too much of a coward to do it yourself."

He turned away, "Ooh~ Trust me, that's not it! I just enjoy sticking to a plan."

The door to the room opened and a Marine came to stand next to him, offering the tense pair a confused look. Clearly wondering what sort of conversation he had stumbled upon. "What's she talking about?"

"Fufufufu…!" He huffed out a terse chuckle, "Oh, don't worry about it! It's just the ramblings of a little-lost-in-the-head prisoner, they usually start spouting nonsense eventually."

The explanation only seemed to confuse the Marine more. But he ended up settling on not questioning it, like a little sheep. Quinn growled. It was just another sheep following the herd, something that Quinn had decided all the Marines were back when she first read One Piece. Unimpressive, delicate, and just the same as all the rest.

"You're pathetic you know that?" She bit her tongue to keep from adding, even more than me.

And Roddie grinned. A cold, cruel curve that held no humor or any of the fakeness she had previously seen on his face; it didn't quite reach his eyes. "We're not so different then, huh?"

She reeled back.

Before she could add anything he raised his hand in a childish wave, "Byeee~!"

And she was left. All alone.

"Alone… again…" She sighed, staring at the space that Roddie had once occupied. And the Marine that followed him went with.

"So help me, I don't care what happens to me, but I want that cowardly bastard to suffer."

But, locked in a jail cell somewhere beneath the Marine base she had been thrown into when Roddie had turned her in, she couldn't even touch him.

She sighed again.

Maybe it really was time for her to just accept that this is all life had left to give her.

But, unknown to her, a certain new-to-the-seas Pirate was picking his way through the island with a giddy expression as he explored.

Or, he was lost.

There was that.

...

...

Strutting down the street with a blonde on his right and an empty street in his wake was definitely something he could get used to. But, he scrunched his face up, the island itself was not fun. Nothing but boring buildings. Boring people. Not a hint of fun to be found.

"Sir," the Marine sideyed him, "We sure about the kind of fruit?"

He spun on heel, walking backwards to enjoy the sight of said Marine. The grin on his face a little too prominent, little too joyful. "Yeah. Cherries. Sour Cherries specifically."

And isn't it wonderful that as soon as he learned that lil' fact he'd gone on a little greenhouse excursion and found himself with fruit just ripe for the picking.

"Uh-huh."

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing. You just seem happy."

"Shouldn't I be?" Roddie quirked a brow, the Marine sighed through his sick mask. "I mean, I'm getting quite the sum of money aren't I?"

"Yes. But-" He pointed out thinly, tucking his hands into his pockets, "-I'm the one that has to deal with you afterwards. And we both know you get nightmares. You're not too great with cold blooded kills."

He twitched.

"...You're such a killjoy, Jo-"

" _-GEH!_ "

" _AH_ \- urg, ow…!" Roddie yelped. Collapsing to the ground, head in his hands. "...What the hell-?!"

"Sorry, sorry! My bad, I didn't mean to hit you there."

His mouth fell open.

"You okay? You have a really hard head- ah, that was rude, wasn't it?"

Behind him his Marine was snickering.

"Anyways- uh, hey, I'm-"

"Why- are you upside down?"

"Huh?"

"Upside down. Why." He demanded, rubbing his palm over his forehead. Well, this was unexpected. And a little bit concerning.

The kid frowned- smiled?- tilting his head and crossing his arms over his bare chest. His hat, a bright orange cowboy hat, hung from his chin, and his hair flopped down to show off steely grey eyes and freckles. He quirked a smile towards them, glancing back at his feet, "Ah- I was taking a shortcut." He was hanging upside down from a post, feet hooked around the top, next to a delicately swaying flower pot threatening to fall.

Roddie took a pointed step away.

"A… shortcut."

"Yep." He twisted and falls, landing on his feet. Now that he was standing rightside up Roddie couldn't help but gape at him.

What was he? A cat?

Then, he bowed. "You have my sincerest apologies."

"Yeah, _sure,_ kid."

Said kid balked. "Kid?!"

"Sorry, that's my bad. Pre-teen?"

"Hey, you li-"

Whatever he was going to say was cut off by his blonde Marine coming to his rescue. He gave a bow, practiced with a long sweep of his arm, hand placed on his chest, and a deceptively pretty flourish. "Sorry, sir, we're just a little bit stressed with an execution beginning and a Vice-Admiral visiting. You'll have to excuse Roddie's attitude."

The kid still seemed miffed. "...sure. Have him apologize for you, huh?"

Roddie shrugged. "Guess so~"

"Thank you for being reasonable. We'll be on our way."

And he was dragged off, sticking out his tongue at the ravenette, before anything else could be said. Walking down the street again with a bit more pep in his step.

"Nice save! You're pretty good at that." Roddie complimented. Tossing a glance in the distance. The villagers had formed a party at the docks, leaving nobody to be seen- with the exception of the cowboy kid -as they prepared a welcoming committee for some Vice Admiral he hadn't heard the name of just yet.

"Tch." The blonde didn't seemed happy, looking rumpled. "You know I hate having to suck up to randoms." He shuddered.

"Yes, don't we all?" Roddie cooed. "But you're excellent at it! Besides, think of all the fun we can have with this. It's fun just tricking, manipulating, roleplaying-"

"I'm not into roleplaying with scrubs."

He froze.

"I- did you just call me a scrub?"

"Nuhuu- I did."

The "kid" watched the pair leave with a raised eyebrow. A bit befuddled by the encounter. He shrugged, shouldering his bag into a more comfortable position, and grabbed his hat that had plopped onto the ground when he had flipped onto his feet.

Dusting it off with a few gentle pats, Ace placed it back on his head and turned toward the road, "...An execution, huh?"

And a Vice Admiral apparently. He'd have to watch out for them.

But… and he grinned here, "Wonder what they did to get a death sentence-!"

_Pfft!_

Something bounced off his forehead.

"...Ha?"

A piece of…

Ace blinked.

...paper?

"P _sst_ -!" He caught another before it could hit him. "Psssst- Hey!"

He looked to the left. To the right. Nobody.

"Hey you!"

Oh, a little kid!

Ace pointed to himself.

"Me?"

As far as he was aware he'd never seen a kid outfitted in a ninja costume before. Certainly not one that would throw crumpled up pieces of newspaper at him in order to get his attention. Even Luffy wouldn't… er, nevermind. He cast the kid a bemused look, they didn't look older than- twelve? Yeah, twelve. And she was partially hidden behind a building, one hand cupping her mouth and the other fisting a handful of more paper.

"Yeah- you!" She hollered, tossing it. It fell short. "Over here- come, over here! Hurry, hurry, damn it, come on!"

Ace continued to stare but picked his way over slowly.

Much to her chagrin.

"Finally-!" She puffed out her cheeks, eyeing him up and down, a foot taping impatiently. "Hmmm-"

The focusing on him intensified.

Ace jumped when she slapped a hand onto his stomach.

"Wha-?"

Was… was this normal on this island? Those other guys didn't do anything like this. He shivered at the feeling of her hand splayed across his stomach. "Uh… can I help you?" _Hold up_. Ace froze. She was feeling up his abs! "Hey-?!"

She scrunched up her face, patting him once, before nodding her head firmly.

"You'll do."

Huh?

Disturbed, and feeling vaguely violated, Ace took a step out of reach of her grabby hands and crossed his arms over his chest. "Wait- I'll _do?_ " He choked. That sounded ominous. "For what?"

Apparently he wasn't going to get the chance to find out because the girl spun on heel and took off, only taking a second to throw a shout back over her shoulder- "Come on then! Follow me."

"Follow you-?"

"Yeah- hurry the hell up!"

He blinked openly, not bothering to keep his surprise at bay. Then shrugged and did as she said- or ordered, more like, curiosity getting the better of him.

She was a bossy kid. So he could forego the pleasantries, "So- what the hell's your name?" She wasn't very fast either. He was already running ahead of her by the time she managed to get a few steps in.

"Gah! So fast!"

"Thanks."

She swallowed, "I'm Maple!"

"Oh, like the syrup?"

He half expected her to give an indignant shout, or be offended, or something along those lines. What he definitely wasn't expecting was the loud, shocked gasp that she emitted or the hands being flung to her cheeks in horror- or childlike wonderment. The two were surprisingly easy to mix up. "A-A-A-Are you a Psychic!?" She exclaimed. Stars in her eyes, positively delighted. Oh, so it was the latter. "THAT'S SO COOOL~!"

He nearly stumbled under foot.

Definitely not the reaction he was expecting.

Coughing, "Uh- no, I'm not. Where'd you get that idea?"

"B-B-But how'd you know then?!" She gasped. "That's my given name! Syrup! I'm Maple Syrup!"

"...Your _name_ is Maple Syrup?"

That had to be some kind of cruel joke. It must be. To name your kid… Ace grimaced. _Syrup._ Especially when their surname was Maple. Creative, sure. Kind though? Not at all.

"Yep but everyone calls me Maple!" She chirped. "Even my sisters- ah, don't tell them I called them that! They don't know yet."

Ace sputtered a laugh, greatly amused by the claim. "How can they not know yet?"

"I only met them a week ago- they saved my life! And I've decided that they're mine now so, ergo: They're my sisters." She explained. As if it made any sense. "They just don't know it yet."

Ace sweatdropped.

"I… see."

"Good! 'Cause I and my bigger sister need your help." She chirped. "Varley-nee pulled a goof and got in trouble! So Dahlia-nee and I need to help her- and that's where you come in! We'll be heroes~"

She wiggled her eyebrows. As if that would convince him, which- it did quite the opposite.

"Me?" He sputtered out a short laugh and Ace shook his head, "Look I think you got the wrong idea. I ain't no hero, I'm a Pi-"

When he turned to try and explain to the kid that no, he was not a hero and would not be doing any special excursions as one, he wasn't expecting to barrel face first into a rock wall. "GAH!"

He was sent spread-eagle on his back. Hat falling off to cover his face, groaning, and slurring out, "Who puts a wall in the middle of the street…"

"Oops, sorry! Coming in a little hot there aren't you?"

Not a wall then. Definitely not a wall.

"Who…?" Ace cut himself off, shaking his head. "Ah, ma' am, sorry for bumping into you. My apologies."

"Oooh~ you got us a polite one Maple!"

"Dahlia!" Maple squealed. "Okay- you're here now too! That means we can get started."

The woman, a brunette, Dahlia he was guessing, laughed boisterously. Her whole body shaking from the sheer loudness of the noise- to the point where Ace had to stick a finger in his ear to try and clear out the ringing that came from it. "I'm glad as well!" She winked, "...little sister!"

"AH- YOU HEARD?!"

"Indeed I did, sweetie! Varela's gonna make fun of you~"

"Noooo-!"

Ace coughed into his fist. "Pardon me-" He grimaced when they both turned to him with wide, hoping looks. "But I think I should be going-!"

"Nope."

"Sorry."

"No can do."

They each patted their hands onto his shoulder in apology- subsequently pulling him back in the same motion. Voices equal amounts deadpan and leaving absolutely no room for argument. Ace twitched, failing to keep away his disgruntled sneer, "I'm not a hero-!" He argued. "I'm not going to help anybody if it makes me one- I'm a Pirate!"

They glanced at each other in unison.

Ace sighed, "Look- Let me explain. You see a hero is someone who, say, has a piece of meat and will divide it amongst everyone! But a Pirate will-"

"-Feast on all of it themselves!"

"Right!" he grinned. "See- you get it! Wait… YOU GET IT?!"

Dahlia snickered, "Of course! It's only logical."

Maple nodded to herself proudly, "Naturally. Naturally."

"So then…" he tried, "I can go explore?"

"No~ope!"

"Why the hell not?! If you get it-"

Dahlia cut him off with a joyful grin, "Because it's even better if you're not a hero!"

"Yeah, yeah!"

"You just said that you needed to save your sister!" Ace accused. "Varley- or something!"

"Varela!" Dahlia corrected.

"But if you're a pirate then we won't have to deal with any of that moral crap!" Maple sung. "It's just so much easier this way."

"Morals?" Ace repeated. Before freezing, making a face, fists suddenly at the ready and snapping, "I ain't killin' anybody for you!"

"No, no, no, no!" They quickly reassured, horrified. Realizing how he made the insinuation. "No killing!"

His scowl fell away, and he lowered his hands. But Ace still narrowed his eyes at them suspiciously, "Then what did you mean by morals?"

Dahlia hummed, tapping the pads of her fingers together. Both her and Maple glanced to each other in unison and, with a count of three, opened their mouths and said:

"Well, it's simple really-"

"-a big part of the story you see-"

"-our little dearie, Varela, as you now know-"

"-is in trouble with the Marines, or so we've been told!"

Dahlia finished with, "And her execution is scheduled in just an hour!"

The hell? Why were they switching back and forth?

Ace tilted his head with a sudden realization. "You mean the execution that those guys mentioned?" He gaped. What a coincidence. "She's your sister?" At incredibly high speeds they nodded their confirmation. He gave them an even more suspicious look than he had before, "...What'd she do?"

They jumped back in offense.

"What's with that look?!"

"What makes you think she did anything?!"

"Uuuh-" He chuckled incredulously before stating the obvious, "She's being executed."

They're mouths froze open.

"...Oh yeah."

"YOU FORGOT?!" He slapped the air.

"Whoopsies~"

He facepalmed.

Maple frowned suddenly, clenching her fists. Finally attempting to answer his question, "We're not too sure what for."

"Huh?"

"She didn't do anything. Well-" she paused. "Yeah. No."

"What was the well for?"

"She's kind of a jerk."

"Yep."

Both his eyebrows shot up, "So she's getting executed… because she's _kind of a jerk...?_ "

Maple blushed, "I said I wasn't sure!"

"She hasn't exactly done anything illegal," Dahlia explained, "At least not to our knowledge and the Marines refused to explain. Apparently her boss, Roddie, is in on it or something though. He's been paying her visits and hanging around the Marines and- that in itself is pretty shocking."

"He's not a people person and he hates the Marines!"

"I might be starting to see why." Dahlia grumbled. "But, anyways, since the Marines refuse to tell us why- without making up some bullish excuse-"

 _Bullish?_ "You mean bullshi-?"

"Shh. Dahlia doesn't like cursing!"

"-Maple and I have decided to perform a heist. To be her saviors!" She chirped before stabbing a finger at him, "And you'll be helping us!"

"No way!" He denied.

"You don't have a choice- sorry, not sorry!"

"The hell I don't!" Ace snapped. Taking in a deep breath and failing to keep his face straight. "I'm not interested in being a savior. Wish I could help you but you guys can save her yourself-"

"Here." Dahlia held up a basket filled to the brim with bread and treats. "I have some snacks that you can have if you promise to help us."

"Deal."

He didn't even hesitate to snatch it up and sit down, already tearing through the food.

"Ah- just like that?!"

Maple threw up her hands, "YAAAAAY!"

Dahlia pressed a hand to her lips. Failing to keep in the bout of laughter that shook through her, "Hahahahahaha! That was so easy! Why didn't you just say that you needed some incentive?!"

"Didn't know you had any." Ace couldn't help but give a grin, swallowing. "So- what's the plan to get Varrie out?"

"Varela!"

"That's what I said."

"No, it-"

Dahlia tapped a finger to her chin, "Well… since a Vice-Admiral is also coming to this island everyone is distracted preparing the docks for his arrival, including the Marines, so I'm hoping that we're going to have a pretty straight shot at getting over to her! But~ We need someone to distract the guards so we can get through and bust her out. That's where you come in!"

"I'm just distracting?" Ace blinked. "If you had just said that in the first place I would've done it."

"You would've?"

"...No."

He admitted. He probably wouldn't have even thought of helping.

It didn't help their case that they were both mighty suspicious-looking.

Well, whatever. Maybe he'd get a bounty out of messing with the Marines? That possibility certainly bolstered the deal.

Dahlia snorted, "Varela was taken a few days ago. So I bet she's getting real impatient right around now- so let's hurry-" she pointed towards the obvious shape of a Marine base, "-thattaway!"

"Mm-hm, mm-hm!"

Then they both took off down the street.

Ace watched them leave. Staring at the half empty basket of food and sighing. He could take off if he wanted to but… "Made a deal, better get to keeping it…!"

Besides, from the sound of it, this Varela chick might have quite the story behind her attempted execution.

"Wonder if she'd be willing to tell it to me! I'm sure I'll have time-" maybe he could scrounge some more food out of her and her sisters, even. "-and she might even be interested in joining my crew!" Ace realized with a start. "Shit! I gotta catch up with them then!"

...

...

"Hup!" Luffy was having a pretty typical day on Mt. Colubo, well, typical for him. If anybody else saw the rather impressive display of jumps and hops from one rock to the next they'd undoubtedly be more than a little impressed- and then summarily horrified at the fact that wolves were snapping at his heels. "Woo~!" The fact that a child, just barely on the cusp of adulthood, was running around a forest that made most grown men wet their pants was not normal in the slightest. Given that said child was made of rubber and had the attention span of a cricket, well, logic was basically thrown out the window at this point.

"Shishishi-!" Luffy couldn't help but stick out his tongue at the wolves. "Blegh! You can't get me!"

The growling seemed to increase exponentially.

Luffy had a pair of dead deer shrugged over his shoulder and hanging limping, rather comical bumps on their heads and x's in their eyes. He'd been hunting all day and it hadn't been going well until he'd- accidentally -catapulted into a group of deer. Of course, where there was downed food their were predators and Luffy didn't have the luxury to hang around as a pack of starving wolves attacked.

"Gum Gum…"

Luffy grinned, rearing a foot back.

_"KICK!"_

He shouted, coolly. Landing a kick into the chest of a large wolf that took his taunting as a chance to jump him, followed by the loud and sickening crack of what was probably a ribcage collapsing. And, of course, everyone knew that if you named your attack it would be stronger and would look totally AWESOME!

...Except he didn't like that name for this attack.

Namely because it wasn't exactly a kick. It was bent and curved. Not straight on.

"Hmmmmm..." he crossed his arms, coming to an immediate halt. The wolves all froze in their jumping (the ones who weren't knocked away that is) and stared at him cautiously.

"Gum Gum... _kick?_ No. Circle? Booo~ no."

He pulled his leg back in and huffed, "Come on. Come on!"

His face turned a bright, bright red.

Pretty sure it was going to start steaming pretty soon...

"-That's it!" Luffy shouted, the painful feeling finally alleviating, "I've got it!"

He suddenly noticed the absence of the deers around his shoulders, "EEEEH?! MY MEAT?!"

Growling ravenously he spun around and looked all around. Those damn wolves! They'd managed to sneak one by him. He hollered after them, chasing down the pack that were desperately trying to make their escape through the trees. "You bastards! Get back here- That's my meat!"

He sucked in a breath and swung his leg around, "Gum Gum...!"

As if sensing the coming danger the wolves let out high pitched whimpers of pain and sorrow and misery of all the things they knew were to come.

_"WHIIIIIIIIPPPPP!"_

The wolves went flying away.

Luffy pouted before picking up the bitten and chewed on carcasses, "My meat...! Stupid wolves."

He gasped as he picked up the second deer, oh no, one of the wolves had taken one of the legs! Oh man... If Ace were here he would have stopped them before they took his food in the first place. Luffy clenched his fists, a fire in his eyes, and began making his way towards Dadan Country.

"Hmmph! I can do this myself."

'Cause Ace wasn't here anymore- which meant he had to be the one to stop them next time. After all, Ace had just left five days ago and was off on his own adventure now! Luffy grinned and shivered in excitement. Just three more years and it'd be his turn!

"Ooouu…" he still had to whine.

It was pretty lonely without them.

"Ace, Sabo! I'm next okay? Have fun!" He shouted. "I've still gotta get stronger!"

The only reply he got back was a bunch of chirping birds and the door to the bandits hut slamming open. He got there just in time to see an irritated Dadan scowling at him, cigarette clenched between her lips, "Oi, brat! You got food, huh?!"

"Yeah!" He chirped, holding up the deer. "The wolves chewed on them a bit though…"

"Whaaaaaa-?! Go throw them back!" Dadan screamed. "Go get somethin' else!"

He shrieked at the order. Clueless as to why.

"What?! Why?"

Dadan stomped towards him, looking incredibly pissed off- which wasn't out of the ordinary.

"Erk... And where's Ace?! He should be with... you..." Dadan slowed down. " _Oh_ , right."

"Ah- are you missing him, Boss?" Dogra and Magra stepped up from somewhere. Luffy bounced from foot to foot, pouting. Were they ignoring him?

"No, of course not," she snapped furiously, "you shitty bastards! I don't miss that brat at all! Wah-ha-ah!" The fact that she had pulled out a box of tissues and had begun sobbing loudly said otherwise. The two bandits sweat dropped.

Dogra looked over at Luffy, "Oh, did you bring back food, Luffy?"

He perked up at the attention, "Yeah but Dadan wants me to get rid of it!"

"I'm sure we can cook around the bitten bits," he assured the straw hat wearing teenager who nodded enthusiastically despite not getting why they would want to cut around it. It was just a bit nibbled on. And, after all, all meat was good meat!

"Ah- it's a good thing Garp had business to take care of before he could come back to the East Blue otherwise Ace would have been taken off to the Marines," Dogra mentioned to Magra. Luffy blinked between the two dumbly with a grin on his face.

"Yes. Apparently he ran into a bit of a fight with a big name pirate on the way out of the Grand Line. He has to restock at some Island called Saigen, too, before he comes over here."

Dadan suddenly froze in her sobbing and turned to the two with almost robotic movements. Eyes wide and mouth hanging open, her cigarette dropped to the ground,

"...That's where he was heading."

"...What."

"Yeah! Ace said there was an island called Saigen nearby that was supposed to have lots and lots of food- it did trading or something!" Luffy chirped. "Mou~ I wish I could go."

There was a long pause.

All their faces turned pale.

"OH NO!"

...  
...

"Hi," he whispered, blinking wildly.

She couldn't help but jump back a few steps.

Quinn swallowed nervously, "...hey… there?" She didn't know whether to slink into a dark corner and hide or poke him in the eyes to get him to go away. She settled, reluctantly she might add, on shuffling her feet and crossing her arms over her body, simply returning the wide stare he offered her.

And wide stare it was. He was glancing around and trying to squeeze in better to get a good look at… her? The room? She didn't really know, didn't really care all that much either, but couldn't help but compare the feeling to being an animal trapped in the zoo. If this was how zoo animals felt being gawked at, well, they certainly had her sympathies.

She shuddered uncontrollably.

"Can I… help you?"

He scrunched up his face even further. Which seemed painful. He was already twisted to press his cheek into the ground and was trying squeeze his face into the small, barred space that was her cell window. From the looks of it he was laying down, chest pressed to the grass, and as close to the building as humanly possible. After a moment of working his jaw so he could speak, instead of slurring out gibberish because of how pressed he was to the bars, he asked, "You Varrie?"

"Varrie?" She choked, incredulous. "Uh- do you mean Varela?"

He grinned. Squished and blinding, not unlike the sun. "Yeah, that!"

Quinn squinted.

He sounded… remotely familiar, a sort of vague itch at the back of her head.

"...That's me." She eyed him suspiciously, "Why're you asking?"

"Your sisters asked me to help them!" He chirped. "And you!"

And that cleared up literally nothing.

"Uhhh..." Quinn uncrossed her arms slowly, bemused, wondering just what the hell he was talking about, "I don't… have any sisters."

" _Ah-_ " she jumped at the surprised note, "Oh, right. That was supposed to be a secret, I forgot! Sorry." He didn't sound apologetic, in fact he sounded pretty happy with himself.

"We're gonna break you out!"

"Secret-?" Quinn's mouth fell open, "Break me out?!"

"Yep!"

"Urk- I can guess who then."

She groaned. Dahlia and Maple. And the notion that they were looking to break her out brought on both a shiver of endearment- and annoyance.

"Those idiots…" She snapped her teeth down on her bottom lip and chewed, the skin ripping and tearing to the point where she was pretty sure it was going to start bleeding soon. They were gonna get themselves hurt. "So where are they then?"

"Hm?"

He squeezed in to get a better look, looking left and right; frowning.

"Huh." He blinked. "Don't know."

"...um. What do you mean you don't know?"

"I just figured they'd be here by now, looks like I was wrong." Quinn got the feeling that he was shrugging but she couldn't exactly see much of him to tell. And it certainly wasn't helping her increasing paranoia and overall befuddlement.

He held out a basket, somehow working his arm through the bars without moving his face,

"Snack?"

Well, that was Dahlia's stuff at least, so she could guess he was telling the truth.

Still, she hesitated in taking the proffered treat, snagging an exceptionally small biscuit-like cookie, "-Thanks." Quinn couldn't help but glare at it. She hadn't eaten in over a day but strangely enough she wasn't all that hungry and the thought of actually trying to keep something down was a bit sickening. So instead of taking a proper bite she forced herself to do was nibble on the corner.

"Chehehe- No problem!"

He laughed, shoveling handfuls into his mouth. And- Holy crap. Did he lack a gag reflex?

Quinn shuddered. He just kept gorging himself and didn't seem to be stopping. Yeah… she really wasn't hungry anymore. Looking past the… shocking appetite, to say the least, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with him but-

She still couldn't quite place him.

"Uh- not to be rude but who are you?"

She scrunched up her face.

Black hair, freckles, semi-tan skin, a necklace with large red beads, and sunny grin-

Oh god. It was Ace.

As if to mock her, he confirmed. "I'm Portgas D. Ace. Nice to meet you!"

Grinning up a sunny storm that had her squinting furiously and inwardly cursing up her own inner storm- outwardly her eye twitched and she somehow managed to keep her voice steady in saying, "Can't say it's the nicest circumstances on my part. But, yeah, nice to meet you too." Before pausing and adding, "Quinn Varela. At your service." In possibly the most dry and hollow tone in her repertoire.

He nodded.

Like, you know, a normal person. And not a comic book (manga… whatever) character. It struck her as so completely odd that Quinn was pretty certain that her brain had just short circuited-

Quinn sighed.

This might as well happen today.

She'd just run with this. Yeah. Best option: not questioning.

...The universe enjoyed needling her, didn't it?

A sudden light came to his eyes and Quinn turned her attention away from her inner turmoil when he drawled, "So what did you do?"

"Huh?"

He gestured with the basket around the room. Quinn distantly wondered if his arm was stuck cause he hadn't pulled it back out, instead reaching his other arm awkwardly in between the bars to snatch up food to… uh... inhale it. That was probably the best word to describe his… rates of consumption. She shivered in disgust- moving on!

She rolled her eyes and helped push his arm back out, shuffling the basket after him. He gave her a grateful and surprised stare- looking delighted, almost. Quinn… wondered what that look meant.

"That's a pretty cliche question." She pointed out, the barest bit amused. " _"What're you in for?"_ "

"Well, what _are_ you in for?" He pressed.

She shrugged, "I ate a Devil Fruit that Roddie wants- my ex-employer and the current keeper of all my hatred -so he's planning on having me executed. That way, he can get it. Which, by the way, I would very, very much like to punch him in the face for."

Oh yeah, that hit was a long time coming.

Ace seemed taken aback. "What? That's it?!"

"I think it would be very therapeutic actually." She rambled. "Maybe I could do a bit more but I'm kinda going to die pretty soon so I don't really think I have many options right now-"

"No, no, no!" Ace exclaimed, raising up his hands. "I mean… that's it? That's the only reason that they're planning on executing you. Because you ate a Devil Fruit."

Oh.

"Sounds pretty stupid, doesn't it?"

"Yeah! Quite a bit!" He scowled, "What- and the Marines won't do anything?!"

"They're the ones holding the execution- and organizing it."

He looked distinctly taken aback for half a second at that, something a little dark and personal passing over his face, before scowling even further, muttering, "Should've guessed…!" Raising his voice, "What about the islanders?"

"They kinda hate me." She frowned. "I think. Or, they don't know. Or care enough. I'm just an outsider here-" She probably wouldn't care about anyone she didn't know or like being executed either. "Honestly, still kinda reeling from you telling me about Dahlia and Maple. Didn't think they'd…" she trailed off. Yeah. It was immensely flattering that they were trying to break her out.

Ace looked at her in disbelief. He cleared his throat, "So the Marines are executing you because somebody wants your Devil Fruit and nobody cares but your sisters-"

"Not my sisters. Friends, I guess, but not siblings."

"-and you didn't think anybody'd come and help you?" Ace asked. Unsettled. They had seemed pretty sure about themselves and the rescue- adamant. He had figured that their sister- sorry, _friend_ would've been expecting saviors to come based on the pairs attitude. Quinn didn't have much of a reaction to the question, though she did wince, and try and give a- half assed- explanation. Ace pressed his lips together in a thin line, narrowing his eyes, and sucked in his bottom lip. Thoughts running a mile a minute.

"To be fair, I'm not the most optimistic of people." She offered. "But, I mean, yeah, sounds like a pretty shitty set of circumstances. Especially when you put it like that. And, I'll tell you, it is. Trust me, I got the experience." Quinn snorted.

"Yeah, I can see that!" Ace grumbled. The look on his face, Quinn hid a smile, was indignant; cheeks puffed up slightly. "What even is your Devil Fruit?"

Quinn couldn't help but let the grin slip, in a sort of ghastly amusement. "Get this. I don't actually know. Nobody's told me and I haven't been able to figure it out."

He swallowed his food sharply, coughing. "You have no idea?!"

"Zippo."

That only seemed to make him even more huffy and puffy.

Quinn sighed. "Dahlia and Maple were trying to help me figure it out but… no. Actually. Where-" She furrowed her brow. "Where are they?"

"You already asked that."

"Yeah. But unless they gave up-"

Ace was quick to shoot that idea down.

"Then they should be here by now." Quinn glanced back across her cell towards the shut exit door. "I mean, you beat them here. What were they doing? I- actually, how were you supposed to help them?" She narrowed her eyes. As far as she could see he hadn't done anything but offer food and kick back and interrogate her.

"Oh, I was supposed to distract the Marines while they snuck in to get you out." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, shuffling aside. "But I think it was a bit of overkill on my part. Sorry."

"What do you mean- oh my god."

Quinn's mouth fell open as he rolled out of the way. Revealing a line of downed and out Marines, all unconscious and nursing bruises that they'd definitely be feeling tomorrow. A very literal path of destruction.

She swallowed, unsure of what to say.

"That's… impressive?"

He chortled. "Glad to find out they deserved it."

"Don't worry they did. But- uh- you didn't… _kill_ anybody did you?"

Ace looked decently offended, but begrudgingly accepted the question since he couldn't really fault her for it. "No!" He still exclaimed defensively, "What do you take me for?!"

"So far? Not much."

He grumbled, rolling back into place. Returning to the problem at hand- "But you're probably right. They should've been here by now. They went in the building to get to you so maybe they ran into trouble?"

Quinn sagged in clear disappointment, or annoyance. He couldn't quite place it.

"...yeahhh… probably…" Those two had no sense of self preservation. "Whatever. No use in worrying I guess."

A grin split over his face, "Hey, if it's any consolation, they're probably fine. They seemed pretty determined and people like that aren't gonna be taken down so easily!"

Quinn snorted, "Or they're too dumb to fail. Like goddamn cockroaches."

"And that just means I can ask you what I've been meaning to ask you!" Ace chirped. Okay, the suspicious look was back again. He raised his hands up in the universal symbol for peace (or surrender, but he didn't seem the type to do that) and grinned, "It's not bad, I swear!"

"Sorry if that doesn't exactly fill me with confidence…"

He continued on, without a care in the world.

"Wanna join my crew?"

Quinn choked.


	3. Saigen II: Jailbreak! Vice-Admirals and Too Many Pirates!

Roddie sighed, dragging a thumb over his teeth impatiently. "Everything in order?"

"From the looks of it? Yeah. Everything seems to be going perfectly."

"Update on the Vice-Admiral?"

The blonde closed his eyes, eyebrows pulling downward in concentration. "You'll hear for yourself in a second-" Neither had to wait long before a commotion erupted somewhere outside the Marine base. Signaling to everyone that the Marine vessel carrying the aforementioned-Vice Admiral was pulling to shore. "The welcoming committee is in action."

"Okay." He rubbed his temples, "And I have the fruit right here. We're already working on a tight schedule with some Vice-Admiral showing up, so let's hope that nothing else goes wrong."

"Cross my fingers, hope to die." The Marine deadpanned, holding up a gloved hand with crossed fingers.

"Fufufu. Don't be so dramatic."

"Cross my fingers, hope to get sick?"

"Better."

"Doesn't roll off the tongue as well as the first though."

"Or, in your case, _teeth,_ " he teased.

If it wasn't for the sick mask covering up the majority of his face Roddie would have been able to spot the blush that popped up at the job. The blonde ducked his head and scrapes a hand through his hair and over his face, dark orange eyes flickering in annoyance, dabbing at the cloth shyly. "Hey," he grumbled, "don't bring that up! That can't be getting out while we're here."

"Well, it's a good thing we won't be here for long then! I want to see your pretty face~" Roddie sung, skipping down the hallway. "Let's gather the guards and perform a proper Marine-style execution- it'll be just like all those private execution that they don't want the world to know about!"

"I think you're thinking more Word Government-style."

"Ehh~ either or. They both suck. Let's not discriminate."

"Of course not, that would be rude."

They had returned to the Marine base, now with a plant in tow. Making their way back to Quinn's cell block with a surprising lack of Marines waiting for them, much to their surprise. Even as they continued down the hall there wasn't a single white-uniformed soldier in sight.

Roddie bit down on a digit of his finger, gnawing nervously on it. "Where the hell are they? Did something happen? They're supposed to be here to execute her." This wasn't apart of the plan.

"You're getting anxious again. Calm down."

"I'm not!" Roddie huffed. "Those losers never do their job correctly, even when they're being manipulated to do my bidding!"

"Just-" his partner stopped abruptly, tilting his head. "You hear that?"

Roddie froze, glancing back at the blonde, following his gaze to a split in the hallway they had just passed. He narrowed his eyes, "Yeah… what the hell are those two doing here?" He wrinkled his nose.

They backpedaled, catching sight of the pair failing to hide behind a pair of barrels.

_"Psst- did Roddie just go by?"_

_"Yeah- with some hot blonde!"_

Said 'hot blonde' flashed Roddie a peace sign and got a mouthed "screw you" in return.

There was a loud thwack.

_"Owie."_

_"You're twelve- don't be such a pervert! Wait a few years."_

_"But Ace was cute and he let me feel him up…."_

_"What?!"_

_"I m-mean- I don't think Varley-nee will approve of you hitting me-"_

_"Well, she's not here! And I'm the older sister… I think. I'm mid-twenties, and she's… early twenties at least."_

_"Yeesh. You're both so_ old. _"_

They glanced at each other, approaching quietly as another loud thwack sounded. Listening intently to the horribly-whispered conversation as it slowly picked up in volume.

"Do you think they're gone?"

"Yeah. I don't hear anything."

"Good. We can get to saving Varela now-"

Okay, they were done, Roddie decided. Not wanting to hear another word, he coughed into his fist and watched as their heads went popping up to meet his grin.

"Hi."

Both their jaws dropped- equal parts horror and shock.

"Wha-"

"Where-?"

"Jones." He clapped his hands together, smile tight. _"Sic' em."_

...  
...

Roddie crossed his arms with an annoyed pout, contemplating his options. "Oh, what to do… what to do…?" Next to him Jones was finishing up on the bindings and glaring at their new companions. Looking rumpled and uncomfortable, as he always did when forced into the steam-cleaned and pressed Marine uniform and mask. Though he was still too handsome for his own good in it. Roddie glanced at the ceiling, letting out a sigh.

It was tiring, by this point. And the only thing to rectify the situation was…

He scowled.

"I think that's enough hiding then."

Jones perked up.

"Let's change up the plan a bit. Be like normal pirates." Roddie made a face. He hated when the plan went awry and they had to cut things short. "Damn it... I wanted to keep this up!"

Jones, however, let out a relieved laugh and stretched out his arms, whipping off the medical mask and revealing a sharp grin. "Goddamnit, finally. Been wanting to get out of this place for months now."

"You've barely been here for one." Roddie deadpanned, uncrossing his arms and tossing him a jacket buried somewhere deep in his shirt. "And you didn't even do anything, Jones."

The jacket was a simple deep red, bright and striking. Made of a thick, coarse material with an asymmetrical zipper, long sleeves and high collar- the printed image of a bowl of ramen crested on his breast and the words Noodle Man stood proud over another image on his back. Jones shrugged on the jacket with an air of relief, feeling right at home in the fabric.

Jones slid a long flat tongue over his rows of sharp, terrifying teeth- they protruding like needles, clamping around each other where a mouth should be. He wiped a gloved hand across his chin, flicking away a bit of off color, almost orange, drool. "Felt like a year honestly! I don't know how you do it."

Roddie's lips quirked up in an amused smirk. "Patience, I guess. Besides it's fun seeing people's faces when they figure out it was us the whole time."

Jones barked a laugh. "Nuhu! You bet! You think they would learn by now, you know?"

There was a high squeal, they ignored it.

"Good to see you as yourself." Roddie smiled, uncrossing his arms and patting the blonde on the back. "Now that we can talk freely: How have the rest of the crew been?"

"Since you last saw them? Eh… Antsy, I guess." He fiddled with the guard of a sword- a slick black rapier- and pulled from a bag a long connecting cord, fastening it to the hilt. It looked like a hose.

Dahlia and Maple flinched back as he went about connecting the sword and hose to a large clear vial with a turnable top, placed in a metal and leather backpack-like binding. He heaved the heavy object over his shoulders and strapped the many bells and whistles down around his torso. The final piece wrapping around his mouth- a cage of metal, glass, tubes and fixtures -all connecting back to the vial.

"Geez, I know how they feel! Feels good to get back in my gear~" Jones stretched, letting out a self satisfied groan. "It's a good thing the Marines think we're dead after we escaped through the Calm Belt because otherwise they would have been on our asses after that stunt we pulled back in Mariejois."

Roddie smirked. "Yeah…" He drawled and hefted up an incredibly large book. He ran a finger along its old, weathered spine delicately. "But it was worth it, wasn't it?"

There came a muffled shout.

"Oh, right. _Them._ " Roddie spat distastefully.

Jones hummed, leaning into their faces until their noses were practically touching. "I can always just take care of them?"

Dahlia glared at them and shoved the squirming Maple behind her protectively.

Bound by ropes. Mouths duct taped shut.

"Leave them." Roddie sniffed. "They're not worth any more time than what we've already wasted on them."

Jones nodded and turned his back on them. It gave Dahlia and Maple the chance to see the steady drip of orange falling into the bottom of the vial slowly, gooping up the base at a steady and rhythmic pace. It looked… unsettling.

Saliva, they realized with a shiver.

And it was even more unnerving thinking about just how much he was drooling in order to create that amount of liquid.

Dahlia growled and managed to tear the tape off her mouth after a minute of frustration, spitting and biting at the pair. She whipped her arms back and forth, wincing when the ropes only tightened. "You- You won't get away with this!"

"Aw~ don't worry about me, I will." Roddie grinned down at her cheerily, already pulling out some more duct tape. "Sorry, Dahlia, but you were trying to run off with our cash cow."

"Cash cow…?" She blinked, eyes crinkling in thought. Trying to figure out what he meant. When the realization finally came her mouth fell open and she stared at him in horror, "You… You're talking about Varela?"

"Yep, Little Miss Quinn is worth a lot of money." He smirked, "Who do you think turned her into the Marines? It only took some poking and prodding but I eventually managed to convince the Marine Captain to execute her to get the Devil Fruit back. Of course, they can't even do that right, but all I have to do is kill her before the Vice Admiral arrives, create some chaos, and run away with it and my crew!"

"The Devil Fruit?!" Dahlia shrieked. "You're gonna kill her over _a Devil Fruit?!_ "

"Yep!"

"Of all the vile, nasty, criminal-!"

Jones slid the tip off his sword to her throat, muttering a deadly, "Shut up," at the same time that Roddie poked at the edges of his wide smile and purred out, _"Pirate~!"_

Dahlia instantly choked and lost every hint of color. Jones glared, face darkening, "That's my Captain you're speaking to," he spat, "don't you dare insult him. Show some respect, lest you face the consequences, sweet cheeks." His thumb hovered over a switch hidden along the shoulder of his rapiers quillon-

There came a loud, overly dramatic gasp.

"Jones-" Roddie squealed, "-you're my hero~!"

Maple jumped at the noise, shuddering. He sounded like a lovestruck schoolgirl.

Said "heroic" Jones slowly glanced back over his shoulder to give his captain a disgruntled, peeved look. Nonplussed by the reaction. Roddie chuckled at the expression, "Fufufu- stand down, Jone~sy! I don't mind... After all my agenda is far from ethical and it does end with a murder, of her friend nonetheless!"

The blonde sighed, pulling his sword away from her neck and sliding it back into its sheath, walking away with a grumble to stand against the furthest wall. Dahlia swallowed nervously. Wondering if she could speak without… eliciting the pirates guard dog. But, now that he had backed off, and the terror was slowly ebbing away to a frightened chill, her lack of self control was already forming more words. Roddie grinned indulgently, amused. "Why? What Devil Fruit could she possibly have that you would want to kill her over-?!"

The book he cradled was shoved in front of her face.

"Do you know what this is?"

"I- a book?"

"Yes," he rolled his eyes, "but more specifically?"

"...no?"

"This right here is a special book, a little thing that we went through quite a bit of trouble picking up. An important piece of text that the Government and many others would kill for," he announced, "all the way from the Holy City, a piece written by the infamous Vegapunk- The Complete Devil Fruit Encyclopedia. Well, only those known, but still beyond valuable in its own right…"

"So you know what Varela's Devil Fruit is?! We've been trying for forever and couldn't figure it out- if you knew, why didn't you tell us-?!"

"Didn't want to. Obviously." Roddie snorted. "If it hasn't gotten through your thick skull already… I don't like you. Besides I owed you no favors."

Dahlia gaped.

"But, as I was monologuing, this particular book is a pretty little amalgamation of information: from powers, to previous users, to little descriptions of how they can be used, but~ I find the most important bit in here is this!"

She felt her face drain of all color, eyes blown wide in shock.

_"The Blackmarket Prices!"_

Roddie thrust the book forward without a thought, flipped open to a familiar fruit.

"Worth an astounding 1 Billion Berries, you know, for the whole potential of destroying the worlds economy- The Luck Luck Fruit!"

...  
...

It strangely wasn't a hard decision to come to, Ace realized before he'd asked. It wasn't even that he had thought all that hard about it, he was just asking before he could really form a coherent thought, focused more on the gut feeling that told him that Varela seemed like she'd make a decent pirate. Which was weird because he was pretty sure that most people relied on more than guts to decide their crew- especially their first ever crewmate- and even Luffy would probably put more thought into who he'd choose but… He pursed his lips. Varela looked… pretty pathetic if he was being honest. But there was a clear defiance in her eyes and the way she spoke held a contempt for the Marines in an unbridled fury that Ace could definitely relate to.

Well, she could always say no, and if she did say yes and turned out to be a waste of space- he was the Captain and could kick her out if need be. Call it her lucky day or whatever, but Ace decided it couldn't hurt to ask.

But Quinn's answer was more or less unintelligible nonsense.

Ace blinked.

That was… not what he was expecting.

She pumped a fist against her chest, catching her breath, and coughed out a shocked, "W-What?"

"Join my crew!" He repeated. Not knowing whether or not to laugh. "I'm starting up a pirate crew and could use some new members."

"No, I got that much. But- like, _why?_ "

"Why?" He parroted. "'Cause I asked you to. Isn't that obvious?"

It must have shown on her face because Ace scrunched up his nose at her dubious stare. And Quinn, slowly, spoke up, "I am in jail. And have a pending execution. I wouldn't say that I'm exactly the best person to ask. And so soon after meeting too."

"So you want to die?" He returned, equally slow. "I mean, sure, if you want, but I'm pretty much offering to help break you out here."

Quinn shrugged, pressing her lips together thinly.

"Uhh- can I give you some advice first?" She tried hesitantly.

He blinked. Once, twice, then again. Clearly more than a little bemused before tilting his head and offering a reluctant, "...Sure?"

"I don't think... blackmailing future crewmates is good for business. You _might_ want to switch it up a bit." She deadpanned.

Ace at least had the decency to rub the back of his neck sheepishly, "Chehehe- is that a yes?"

"I-"

It wasn't as if she had much of a choice in the matter, she ran a hand through her hair. Ew. Gross. She needed a shower. And taking a look back at the cell behind her the decision was pretty obvious- but Quinn was nothing if not stubborn at the worst of times. "I guess, but- uh, again, why?"

He tilted his head, confused.

"I mean- I'm not exactly _worth_ anything. I'm stuck in a cell. Sure the Marines were jerks to me but I'm pretty sure they're like that with everybody who isn't writing their paycheck-" she rambled, "It would be more trouble going out of your way to help me than it would be finding your original crew… errr, someone else. Not that I would know. And even though I would like to think that I got all the luck in the world... let's face it, I'm stuck in a dark cell halfway underground and that's not even counting the fact that I most definitely smell something rank right now-"

This was all so freaking weird.

Ace chortled, "You talk too much."

She gapes, mouth hanging open. Not knowing quite what to say. "Thanks," she eventually squeaks before she's biting down on her lip, "Excuse me if I'm hesitant-"

"You have a dream?"

Quinn jumped, thrown for a loop. "Huh. I- yeah? I mean." Her teeth tightened in its hold and she reddened- "Kinda lame though. Please don't ask."

Ace raised a brow but luckily didn't comment. He didn't look like he believed her. But a grin still spread across his face, strong and blinding.

Goddamnit, Quinn had sunspots in her eyes now.

"Then, come on, it'll be fun~" He smirked. "Let's live without any regrets, yeah?! ...I mean, if you don't, you'll probably die."

She finally slumped. Accepting him as her best route out with a sigh and a brush of her hand over her face which had Ace stopping and blinking at her curiously. A gold mark lighting up over her cheek. "This cell was beginning to become a sight for sore eyes anyways. Besides I don't think I have much time left before-"

Hilariously, that was when her feet slid out from under her.

A good thing she fell too. Otherwise she would have a bullet buried in the back of her skull.

"Varela?! What the hell was that?!" Ace shouted from behind the bars, squeezing his face in as best he could to try and get a good look at the scene. Yeah, Quinn dizzily placed a hand on her head, eyes finding the chink of rock where the bullet had shattered, she definitely didn't have much time left at all. "Who shot-?"

"Whoops."

Came a very obnoxious voice, airy and with a nonchalance to match her levels of annoyance.

"I missed. That hasn't happened in awhile."

"You!" Ace snapped, stabbing a finger in his direction. "You're that… that…" He rubbed his fingers together when a name failed to come to mind.

"Roddie."

"Right!" He snapped his fingers. "The rude-guy!"

He looked faintly amused.

Quinn groaned, "Yeah, him. Ow…" She shook her head.

A fine dust filtered over her vision. Making her blink wildly, a mark covered her hand, a gold and bright smudge of color. It fluttered into the air- then, like it was never there, it disappeared.

"Ooh- looks like the Devil Fruit's finally at play."

Oh. So that's what that was.

Her vision tunneled a bit, and she leaned back to press herself against the wall of her cell, more than a little swept off her game. The pistol clicked and she swallowed nervously. "You know, how about you not kill me?" She tried. "That seems like a pretty reasonable option don't you think?"

"Ha." Roddie deadpanned. "Funny."

"Well, have you tried it?" Quinn asked, voice dry. "I- I go long periods of time without killing anybody and its worked out pretty well for me-"

She glanced back at Ace, panicking, they needed to get out of here now.

Thankfully he'd realized her attempt to stall for what it was and was pulling violently on the windows bars. They bent further beneath each jerk.

Roddie snorted, undeterred.

"Heh- we all have our dry seasons Quinn! I wouldn't worry about it!"

He aimed.

"A-Ace, now would be a good time _to_ -!"

She didn't get time to finish.

There was an explosion of dust and rubble. The wall to their left ruptured.

In the same moment that Ace managed to rip the bars out of place a low, slowly building sound coming from a place somewhere deep, deep down, rumbled into the room. As if hearing the noise the dust that billowed and stung quivered in the air, dropping to settle on the now dirt covered floor. Roddie and Jones took a step back. And if Quinn was seeing things correctly they suddenly looked like their worst nightmare had been realized and Ace himself got the fabulous experience of feeling all the color draining from his body trying to take his soul out along with it, letting out a strangled noise.

The room hushed before- "BWAHAHA! NOW WHAT'S THIS I HEAR ABOUT PIRATES?!"

Ladies and gents. Garp has entered the building.

The resulting silence was deafening.

Ace was the first to speak.

"Varela…" Ace breathed, sweat running down his face and looking, dare she say, nervous. "Take my hand. Now."

He offered his hand slowly, like a deer caught in headlights, and shifted anxiously while he waited. Quinn took a moment to take in the gaping Roddie and Jones, the goliath of a man that stood before them, and the cackling Maple and Dahlia that strutted into the room after him with all the canash they could manage- And slapped her hand down on top of Ace's without another second's hesitation. "Good idea!"

She was hefted through the window without having to so much as move, feeling like her arm was gonna fall off as her and Ace bolted from the scene like the dogs of hell were on their heels.

Which, given the booming laughter behind them, and Ace's horrified mutters, they might as well have been.

"Why is he here? _Why is he here? **Why is he here?!"**_

-0-

_Roughly two minutes earlier._

They were in a storage closet.

Locked away from wandering eyes and prying ears all they could really do was make muffled squeaks and squirm wildly in their bindings. Dahlia squealed something that sounded suspiciously like cursing. The fresh piece of duct tape on her mouth itched and she snapped what part of her jaw she could make work to try and get a firm hold on it. If she could just chew through it, or lick it enough that the sticky bits started to loosen, then she could call for help from the Marines and tell them about Roddie's undercover piracy.

But the new tape on her face held strong and proud. It just wanted to piss her off.

Dahlia tugged harshly against the ropes, thrashing wildly. The action something that she stopped almost immediately with a strangled whine- her back cramping and her shoulders aching.

"Ooooagh…" she moaned a whine into the tape.

Maple whipped her head around at the low complaint, eyes wide. "Mnff- Dah- don't mofshh-!" She squeaked.

_Don't move!_

She nodded. Varela was probably curled up in her prison cell awaiting her death sentence at the hands of a backstabbing Pirate, they needed to get out of here quick to help her! For that, they needed a plan. Maple shifted, lips and teeth curling around the tape. She sucked it in and rolled it down until it was at her chin- "There!"

She huffed, breathing heavily, "I-hoof- did it-huff! I'm gonna- _phaa-_!"

Maple made a face, sticking her tongue out.

"GAH! That tastes so gross!" She spat and sputtered, screaming about the disgustingly bitter taste the tape left on her lips.

Dahlia snorted a laugh from around her tape- Her face shifted three different shades of green in the span of a second and contorted in such a comically way that Dahlia couldn't stop the shudders of giggling.

But finally, Dahlia breathed a sigh of relief, they could get some help.

"Heyoooooo!" Maple bellowed, "HELP! WE'RE TIED UP! THERE'RE PIRATES HERE SO WE NEED YOU TO HURRY! On the double, damn it!"

She clapped her hands behind her back as if it would make somebody hurry to their rescue.

They waited a moment.

Nothing.

Dahlia let out a muffled shout.

Not to be outdone, Maple chirped up determinedly. "...Imma just gonna be as loud as I can then!"  
Dahlia nodded, eyes glaring at the door and willing it to open with a helping hand on the other side while Maple opened her mouth and let out a high pitched shriek, screeching and hollering to the point that Dahlia could only pick out a few words from the mess of shouts. She yipped and snorted and screamed and-

There was a crash.

-Maple slammed her mouth shut. The snap of her jaw closing made a painful creak when her teeth slammed together and she ground them together awkwardly, trying to roll the uncomfortable feeling away.

"Did somebody hear us?" She muttered, ear pressed against the wall. "Hey-! Hello-! Anybody there?!"

What they expected was to hear footsteps slowly approaching their place and for some nervous Marine to call out to them. Then, they would call him forth and he could help them out of their frightening circumstances so that they could continue on with their main journey- to save Quinn! What they didn't expect however…

_...was this._

"Grah!" The wall crumbled into pieces before their very eyes in a man shaped hole as a bulldog appeared from the rumble. "What's this I hear?!"

Okay, so not a bulldog then. Maple let out a shriek and Dahlia just blinked her eyes rapidly as her brain tried to come to terms with what she was seeing.

It was… a man, alright. But his shoulders were so broad, his chest built like a barrel of rippling muscle alone, and his fists were seemingly almost as large as his head. He was wearing some hilarious hat that hooked around his jaw and covered his eyes, letting his grin spread freely across his face for all to see- the head of a bulldog.

"Hah?" He froze, feet skidding to a halt on the floor and Dahlia's mind trying to compute the fact that there was a trail of flames left in his wake from the sheer speed his was going at. Quinn would be having a heart attack at the impossibility of it all. But Dahlia had been hanging around Quinn for a little too long- so instead of freaking out like a… ahem, *cough cough*... _"Normal person"_ she simply let out a sharp breath through her nose, blinked once to let it pass through her mind and than out her ear, and moved on. "Who're you?!"

"I'm Maple!" Maple shouted her introductions, twisting around to try and get a good look at the Marine. "This is Dahlia-nee! You gotta help us- there's a pirate that's gonna kill Varley-nee."

Dahlia blinked at the swaying coat on the Marines back. Those were only issued to certain ranks and… _Why~_ ! Didn't a little birdie tell her that a Vice Admiral was coming? She smiled into her tape triumphantly.

He leaned down, shoulders bumping against the man-hole he had created. "Pirates- you say?" From out of nowhere a bag of rice crackers appeared in his hands and he stuffed a handful into his mouth.

Dahlia nodded exuberantly, explaining. "Mnfhh! Mn! MnShhphahhfnnhn!"

"Ehhh?! They're planning on killing your friend for her Devil Fruit, have been working undercover for the past year and have the Marines holding the execution?!" He practically covered them with crumbs when he spat out the words in shock.

"Mnhm!"

Maple's mouth fell open. "Woah~ I wasn't able to understand her at all! How did you do that?!"

The Vice Admiral grinned, wide and toothy.

"With…" He leant down on one knee, waves crashing behind him as the sun set behind him. Sparkles rained supreme. "...the Power of Justice."

"...That's so totally _rad."_ Maple's eyes gleamed wide, mouth falling open in pure awe. Dahlia shifted uncomfortably. She felt like she was intruding in on a some powerful moment. That and she was being blinded by some sort of illusion. A sun and crashing waves behind them.

"BWAHAHAHAHA! It is, isn't it?" He bellowed out another laugh, "I like you kid! Now."

He cracked his knuckles.

"Let's go save your sister."

-0-

Jones sucked in a deep breath from in between his teeth.

"So it was Garp."

"Yeah."

"The whole time… the Vice Admiral who you've known was coming for weeks now…" Jones continued. "Was Monkey D. Garp. The one marine… that was our top priority to _avoid._ "

"I know."

"How could you not have known-?!"

 _"Jones._ Please. Let's just focus." Roddie groaned, slumping as he ran.

"Just sayin'," he looked ahead, amused, "I take it this means the plan is gonna need a change? Again?"

He wasn't surprised to see Roddie throw up his arms and let out a low whine, "Noooo. I don't wanna change it!" He cried childishly, puffing out his cheeks and ignoring the blondes chuckle. "I hate changin' plans. We already had to once today! The Marines were just too incompetent to execute her themselves-"

"You say that but we currently have a pretty goddamn competent Marine on our tail."

"I… noticed, Jones." He rubbed a hand over his forehead, pointing his gun over his shoulder without so much as a glance and firing away. Garp laughed at the futile attempt to ward him off, making sure to keep the cackled Maple and Dahlia hanging off his shoulders out of harm's way. "What a pain…! Fine, fine, let's do this quick and lickity-split."

"I- That gives me no information, Captain."

"What- isn't it obvious?"

Jones raised a brow.

Roddie huffed, "You go after the twits and see if you can get the fruit. If not… urk. Fine, we'll lose one. Just make sure you don't get hit and I'll try to run Garp away and gather the others so we can blow this joint. I know when to dip. "

"See. Those are terms I can actually understand."

"Whatever, Jonesy." He rolled his eyes, "Here!"

Jones blinked in momentary surprise when the blunette reached into his jacket and tossed something at him, though he quickly understood when he pulled out a potted plant covered with cherries. Catching it and groaning at its size, leaves tickling his nose. "Captain… you know that I'll follow you anywhere right?"

Roddie pursed his lips, wondering where he was going with it. "Yeah?"

His tongue poked out from between his teeth for a moment, not that anybody could see much beneath his mask, before giving him an incredulous look. "This is a tree. You had… a tree. In your jacket. How?"

"Please, you don't know everything about me." Roddie snorted, winking. "I could have a raccoon in my shirt and you wouldn't even know, man."

".. _.Do_ you have a raccoon in your jacket?"

"Maybe." He hummed, "But that's not important. We meet back up in ten, with or without the fruit. So let's get to it-!"

"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!"

They turned just in time to spot Garp bearing down on them with a fist reared back. Paling, they glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes in unison, nodding. Garp's fist came down between them, leaving an uncomfortably large crater beneath them as they dodged. Maple yipped and cackled, "Go, go, go! Oh~ the power of justice is so totally rad!"

"Hehehehehe." Dahlia giggled darkly into her hand. "Destroy them, Garp-san!"

Roddie shook his head, shooting Jones a thumbs up, with a winning smirk, "Do your best!"

Jones sighed. This was a huge mess. Well, he let his gaze follow the ripped open wall in the Marine Bases structure, a path of groaning Marines still lying about, he had a pair to trail so he better hurry to follow his Captain's command.

What a day.

...  
...

She said it once she'll say it again. "Today is not a good day." She declared loudly this time, to no one in particular. Except maybe Ace. Who turned to check back on her with a bemused look-

Or, it would have looked bemused if he didn't immediately flinch when the whole island seemed to shake. Eye twitching and looking like he half expected his grandfather to jump out in front of them and throw them both through the gates of hell before dragging their asses into an even deeper pit of hellfire and misery. Ah- rampant paranoia, how she missed it. The actuality of someone potentially coming to get them did wonders for her psyche. But, hey, it's not paranoia if they're actually coming to get you, right? _Right?!_

Yeah, so like she said, it was not a good day.

"I'd ask what makes you say that but…" Ace trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck and letting out a strained laugh. "I really didn't expect him to be here if that helps?"

"Not really." She sighed.

Oh, wait, she shouldn't actually know who he is, should she? Well… damn. Now there was the question of whether or not she should play stupid and-

-that seemed like a whole lot of work. And she was not about that right now.

Still, "Sooo~" she drawled, "You haven't properly introduced me to your… should I say, friend?" There was teasing to be had and watching Ace squirm under her dry stare was oddly satisfying. Ha! And he couldn't refute her question either! 'Cause she shouldn't know it automatically.

Ace shuddered visibly. "Hell no."

"Keheh." Her eyes gleamed, and Ace knew that she was definitely messing with him. Somehow. He just couldn't figure out in what way.

"He's my grandfather." He explained simply, brow twitching. "And as you can see…"

There was another tremor.

"He's a bit of a monster." She finished for him succinctly.

"Yep."

"Honestly? You have my sympathies." She clasped a hand over her heart dramatically, or as dramatically as she could manage. Which wasn't a lot. "Woah-" Distracted she almost stumbled over her own feet and went careening into the street, "Oof. Ow." Quinn grimaced and fell into a roll until she was sliding down the last little bit of roof on her back and planting her foot at the edge of the gutter to make the jump to another, thankfully flatter, roof. "Don't mean to pry- no, actually I do. But- uh- why did we take to the roofs?"

"Shortcut." And the explanation is short and stupid but Quinn just shrugs and follows his lead because he goes back to being twitchy once they both realize there hasn't been a peep from Garp in a hot minute. Ace is looking ahead darkly, well not darkly per se, determinedly is probably a better word for it, but its such a turn from the bright smiles and grins he'd been pumping out before that Quinn can't help but feel a little unsettled. So she pursed her lips and focuses on the direction they were heading instead and was unpleasantly surprised to see the crowd still gathered at the docks.

"You're trying to lose him in the crowd." She realizes and Ace blushes for some reason, shoulders coming up to hung his neck.

"Tch. I ain't runnin' or anything, I just don't think it'd be good to fight him on his turf if I have to-"

He tried- and failed -to deny the pretty damn obvious reason for them turning tail. Ooh, big manly man who doesn't want to seem like he's on the run.

Quinn nearly rolled her eyes- not that she blamed his running but there's a heat to his words that almost has her snickering until she raises her hands in a sort of 'I get it' fashion- a mistake because she nearly misses a grip and has to practically whip herself over the edge of another roof and slide to her feet in such an uncomfortable move that she's cringing while hopping on one foot.

With a huff of relief once she rights herself she says, "No, no. It's a good idea actually."

Maybe not for the reason that he thinks but, yeah, it's a pretty solid plan. Though, Quinn wondered if that's where his ship is… or if he even had one…

Ace pauses in his running.

Ha. If you could even call it that, he was practically bouncing from rooftop to rooftop.

"Really?" He sounds dubious so Quinn raises a brow at him and completely blows past to scale a wall on one of the taller buildings- hey, wait…

"Yeah. Easier to get lost in crowds. And since he's a Marine he'll have to hold back to not catch any civilians in the mix or do property damage- but from the look on your face I take it he doesn't care." She has to backtrack her thought process almost immediately and can't help but sigh at the uncomfortable and grim set to Ace's face. He grins and pinches the bridge of his hat to nod. "That's great… Need a new plan now."

"Yep." Ace confirmed faltering just a tad.

"Damn it. Ugh. Well, I need to pick up my stuff anyways?" She gestures to a roof that's thankfully not too far away. "Maybe we can come up with something there?"

They can deal with Garp on their tail and potentially Roddie and his little friend later, right now she had some things to pick up.

And since Ace doesn't have any better ideas he readily agreed.

And perks up at the sight she pointed out, "This your place?"

Quinn scowled as they stopped on top of the roof of the East Mail, thankfully with a roof access. It was certainly not a sight he'd been wanting to see but, in this case, it wasn't the worse it could've been.

"You could say that. I bunked here when I could or had to. Most of my stuff is at Dahlia's but…" she shrugs, searching for the roof door. "I don't own much in the first place so I won't really be missing out. Ah- Bingo!"

And there was the door.

There was a unsatisfying click as she went to pull it open… and it was locked. Of course. She closed her eyes for one long, suffering moment. Grumbling and reaching a hand up to pick through her hair, "Great. There goes my bobby pins…"

Ace, who was taking his sweet time in joining her, turned around to find her crouched and hands shaking, eyes narrowed furiously and teeth gnawing on her lip.

All in all, looking like an angry gremlin.

"What're you doing?"

" _Picking-_ " she fumbled and swore, losing her place, "Picking the lock."

Quinn jumped when Ace was suddenly bearing down on her shoulder with such an intense gaze she felt a shiver run down her spine. "The hell-?"

"You can actually do that?!" He exclaimed. "I thought you had to have like a set or kit or something? I heard that you could do it with pins but whenever I tried they'd just snap before I could do anything!"

Cringing and leaning away at his closeness Quinn focused back on getting through the lock as quickly as possible. "Y-Yeah. I haven't practiced in awhile so I'm a bit slow but it's not that hard once you know how to do it… uh."

There's a relieving click and Ace is looking absolutely awestruck at the now open lock and scraped bobby pins.

"If you wanna grab the lock I can probably show you how to do it later…?" She offers nervously. It seems to be the right thing to say because Ace gives her both an enthusiastic nod and a delightfully surprised look, grabbing the lock and stuffing it in his pants pocket.

"That's so cool!" He jumps in as she opens the door and slides down the small ladder leading into the attic, "Hey, were you lying earlier about not doing anything to get executed? You're not like… a master thief are you?!" He seemed to sparkle at the prospect.

Quinn almost felt bad crushing his hopes. Almost.

"No."

Ace actually booed.

"Kehe- sorry? I just thought it was cool when I was like… twelve, I think, and picked it up using old locks." She frowned, kicking a pile out of the way of the door to finally get to the stairwell leading down to the main room. "Uup- Watch your head."

"Geh-" Ace barely ducked in time to avoid ramming his forehead into the overhang, hissing, "Wait- if you can pick locks then why didn't you just escape from your cell?"

"They usually had a guard posted and I'm not _that_ great at it. The only reason I did the door so fast is because I've done it before on this one. Also, the cells got a block to keep people from unlocking it." He scowled at the answer. Quinn shuffled a few papers out of the way, "Damn. Where is it?"

Ace looked around the room and whistled. "This place is a mess…" Quinn cringed, nodding her agreement easily enough, eyeing all the garbage around them with clear disgust and went to rifle through drawers and papers quicker. It felt like every new thing she touched was crumpled, stained, or had some other problem.

"Whatcha looking for?"

"Huh? Oh, I had a bag here somewhere with all my stuff. But its been like a week since I've been here and Roddie probably moved it… or threw it out…" She muttered darkly. "It's kinda weird looking; black and white and has Pandaman written on it?"

Ace nodded, beginning to look around himself.

Quinn's chewing on her lip turned thoughtful, "So… pirates, right? That's what we're doing from here on out?"

His head popped up from beneath a desk, "Yffshh!"

Did- Did he start eating one of the old, half eaten burgers-?

Okay. Ew. Gross.

He swallows it whole, chewing lightly. "I mean- yes." He coughed into his fist awkwardly. "We're pirates."

Quinn purses her lips. "Alright, then it's nice to meet you, Captain." It wasn't like she had other plans.

Ace brightened visibly at the title. He cast a quick look around the room, spotting another stairwell leading down, and leant over it. "Oy, you said this bag of yours was black and white, right?"

"Right."

"That it?" Quinn got up to look over his head, not a hard thing to do considering he was surprisingly shorter than her, and followed his finger to spot the opened flap of her shoulder bag on Roddie's desk with part of its contents spilling out among the papers. She hissed at the sight, eyes narrowing.

"That ass- he went through my shit."

"Did he take anything?" Ace glared at the bag as if it was going to jump up and bite her hand when she went to quickly search through.

There didn't seem to be anything missing but her clothes were a crumpled, wrinkly mess and what little money she had in the weird One Piece currency was strewn around the bottoms of the pockets and torn. Everything else was in similar states of disarray but it wasn't as if she had much or anything of particular value on her- Quinn still didn't like people going through her stuff and touching it. Hell, even Ace had the decency to look away but she thought that was more because she was shoving undergarments back inside than anything.

"No, doesn't look like it." Quinn sighed lightly. "Thanks for helping me find it."

He gave her a lazy thumbs up, hand covering the upper half of his face. "No problem."

"...Dude, I don't care if you see my things." Quinn deadpanned at the reaction. "Don't be a prude."

"Oh," Ace dropped the hand almost immediately, "Really? The last time I ended up seeing a woman's wardrobe I got called a pervert and pepper sprayed." He twitched. Luffy had laughed at him while he rolled around on the ground while holding his face. His expression darkened sourly, "It was not fun."

Quinn's mouth fell open. "That seems like a bit of an overreaction. What happened?" She raised a brow, going through Roddie's drawers without a seconds hesitation and rifling through his stuff. Hey, if he was going through hers than she'd go through his no questions asked. "You're not a closet pervert are you?" She asked more to get him riled up than anything.

And rile he did. Hair practically standing on end as he snarled out a no before seeing the quirk of her smile and gave her a dry stare. "Har, har, very funny." He rolled his eyes before explaining, "I ended up getting punted through her window and destroying her dresser. Long story short she thought I was a pervert and pepper sprayed me until I fell back out the hole I made and into a rose bush." The thorns were not great. "Makino said that it was rude to go through women's clothes, specifically. And that she probably thought I was gonna harass or hurt her." He scratched the back of his head. "Don't know how you'd get that idea from clothes though…"

Quinn contemplated facepalming but no, Ace seemed to honestly fail at putting together any connection so instead she settled on patting him on the shoulder and saying, "I don' know man. I don't know. Girls are weird."

"But you are a…" Ace shook his head, "Oh, hey! What's this?" He pointed to a microphone and red button, made out of some weird shells and sticking out of a box.

"Island wide intercom. Roddie made it out of a bunch of shells and wires apparently."

Ace hummed, contemplating pressing it before deciding against letting everyone know where they were and instead rapping his knuckles against the desk excitedly, "Can we go now? We gotta grab a ship and take off before we get found out! I ain't gonna be no Marine and I'm pretty sure you don't want to get executed- so can we go?!"

"Yeah," she smirked as she pulled out a handful of crumpled bills from inside Roddie's drawers, "I think I got every- woah. Shit!" She swore, ducking down. Just in time to not be seen by the blonde stepping into the building.

There was a surprised grunt.

"Ah- you're that guy from earlier aren't you?"

Ace narrowed his eyes at the new arrival but didn't move an inch, instead glaring. "Who the hell are you?"

Quinn swore under her breath, barely above a whisper and pressed herself close to the desk while mouthing 'holy shit' over and over again.

There was the distinct sound of a sword being slid in-and-out of its sheath, as if methodically, and Ace thankfully didn't offer so much as a glance in her direction- looking absolutely nonchalant and like he was supposed to be there; a completely neutral expression on his face.

She had only just caught the blonde man out of the corner of her eye from the large window facing the outside and it had taken her nearly half a second too long to recognize the frightening individual and throw herself down.

"Jones." He yawned into his hand, apparently bored. "Hey, you haven't seen a chick with black hair recently? Looks like she took a swan dive off a cliff?"

Quinn pursed her lips at the description, before giving a dry nod: That's fair.

"Nope." Ace lied, popping his letters.

"Hm… how about this? She ate a Devil Fruit that my crew called dibs on. The Luck Luck Fruit."

Quinn froze, mouthing the title in shock.

"And we'd really, really like it back."

She shook her head. She could think on that later.

(But really… luck? That was her power? That's… so lame.)

"Sorry. Can't help you."

"Urk- that's too bad." Jones sighed and fingered the hilt of his sword, watching as Ace tensed. "You were with her earlier weren't you?"

Ace's jaw clenched slightly while he eyed the odd sword and contraption. Something told him he definitely didn't want to be on the receiving end of that blade in particular. So, rigidly, he strained out a forced, "No. I think you got me mixed up with someone else." It sounded bland to even his own ears.

"Do I? Do I really?" Jones blinked in obvious disbelief. "It's kinda hard to forget the bright orange cowboy hat."

"What orange hat?"

Ace blinked, slapping his hat off and letting it plop down onto the table. Quinn facepalmed.

"...That one." Jones pointed. "That one right there. On the desk. That you just took off."

Ace didn't so much as falter. "I don't know what you're talking about." Slapping the hat into Quinn's hands. If it was possible, she facepalmed harder.

His shoulders shook, "Nuhuuhuhu. Sorry, but I think you're lying."

"About the hat?" Ace sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Sorry. It is mine." He picked it back up, ignoring Quinn's incredulousness. "Neat, isn't it?! My brother gave it to me!" Ace chirped, spinning it on a finger. "It's the coolest! It's got-"

"I know what its got! I can see it!" Jones snapped, hand gripping his sword. "And that's not what I'm talking about and you know it!"

"Do I? Do I really?" Ace returned mockingly.

"You do!" He accused. "Now how're we plannin' on doing this then?"

There was a long pause.

Ace and Quinn shared a glance and she reached a hand up over the edge of the desk to grasp the first thing she could get her hands on.

"Now you could hand the girl over-"

He ducked.

"Bitch-! Was that _food?!_ "

Quinn glared. "Yeah. It was." Still in a throwing position. She had thrown- something at him. She wasn't exactly sure in all honesty but she was pretty sure that she didn't want to find out. It was a container of something… weird and goopy. Jones wiped an arm across his cheek and grimaced, muttering disgusted curses under his breath and seemingly less than impressed by the turn of events. "Tell your ass of a Captain to quit being a pig next time and maybe I wouldn't have shit to throw." Quinn snarled.

Apparently fed up Jones growled.

"Nuhu- you assume there's going to be a next time."

"Yeah, I do. You know why?" A rather cruel smirk played itself over her lips and even Ace froze at the dark tone of her voice, a feeling of dread coming over him. Quinn, taking a deep breath, offered him an apologetic smile, watching as his expression morphed into one of horror. "Sorry, Ace…"

He flung his hands up to stop her, "W-W-Wait-?!"

"Shit! What're you-"

She slammed her hand down on the intercom button- a high pitched whine filling the room and subsequently the whole island. The trio in the mail station weren't witness to the groans as people slammed their hands over their ears and jerked up at the loud noise, followed by the colorful swearing of a blue haired man ushering his companions onto a stolen marine vessel, and a man with the silhouette of a mammoth and a bulldog lifting his head and following directions of two people perched on each of his shoulders. No, instead of seeing that, Ace and Jones watched in varying amounts of horror and anger as Quinn felt a wide grin spread over her face and said, as clearly as she could:

"Pirates in the Mail Station! Requesting two person ship be prepared for hostage citizens to flee with at the docks! This is not a drill! I repeat, Pirates in the Mail Station! This is an authorized request, all able bodied Marines to the East Mail and a ship be prepared for long journey- By order of Monkey D. Garp! I repeat, Pirates in the-"

"VARELA WHY WOULD YOU DO TH-?!" Ace began to shout, throwing his hands up to his head, but Quinn just shook her head and snatched him by the wrist.

"Less talk, more run! Up the stairs! Up the stairs-!" Quinn frantically yanked him along. "We gotta go-!"

Jones let out a furious shout, teeth clicking together angrily, and lunged. Quinn yelped at the move, crouching as the blonde brought his sword down to meet them-

Jones was forced to turn mid-attack, just in time for Ace to take the lead at the first step of the stairs, dragging Quinn up after him, and the building to erupt behind them in a flurry of movement and rubble.

"HERE'S GARP-Y!"

Frick.

Of all times for him to show up and block his blow.

Quinn was pretty sure Ace would deny the yelp that managed to make its way out of his throat before he could clamp his hand down over his mouth. He glared at her from the corner of his eye,

"What the hell was that?! He's gonna destroy everything!"

"Sorry but I'd prefer dealing with him than what's-his-face-Jones or whatever!" Quinn returned, nearly tripping back down the stairs. "I just didn't realize he'd get here so fast!"

Ace snorted, "Trust me, he is wayy worse than anything you could think of-"

There was a tremor.

"Shit!" Ace looked over his shoulder and seemed to burst forward with renewed speed, "Run! _Run! Run! Ru-_!"

"Oh, what the fu…" Quinn trailed off when she went to look behind them as well, eyes wide. "How is the floor crumbling?!"

It was if the stairs were being eaten at their heels.

Quinn whipped around to look back ahead. Ace looked like he wanted to say 'I told you so' but focused more on climbing stairs. "I-" she swallowed, "I think I'm experiencing a new kind of fear. This is some supernatural shit!"

"Chehahaha-!" Ace couldn't help but laugh at the reaction. "Welcome to my world! This way!"

"Urk-"

Quinn grumbled loosely, running a hand through her hair.

Well… wasn't this a turn of events?

There was a click as the door to the roof opened up. There was also the building beneath them collapsing a few feet but Quinn wasn't exactly focused on that. No, it was a bit easier to focus on the remaining daylight blinding her and jumping to the next roof just in time to leave behind the now entirely collapsed Mail Station.

"If it isn't a pirates life for me?" She mumbled, ignoring the weird look that Ace gave her.

It was certainly an idea to play with.

-0-

Jones yelped.

"Damn it, what the hell man?!"

He yelped again.

"Maybe if someone wasn't an idiot for not telling us that Monkey D. Garp was going to be on this island you wouldn't be injured right now-"

"Look, I said I was sorry already Fischer." Roddie sighed, rubbing a fist against his chest. "They don't exactly hand me a slip that tells me every little detail I need to know-"

"Excuses! We're the Creep Pirates!" Fischer hissed. There was another yelp and Jones swallowed a whimper. "We're known for infiltration and stealing information from anybody and everybody! We damn well better have known- anything else but that is a failure!"

Roddie and Jones flinched away from the short, hunchbacked man's glower.

Fischer, the Creep Pirates Doctor, who had taken the place of the island's Doctor, was a dark, gremlin of a man with haunting, droopy eyes that looked like something from nightmares. He was patching up the bruised and beaten Jones they had managed to snatch back onto their ship mid-fight with Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp- a fight that had not been in his favor. Now, sporting a plethora of injuries Jones sat shirtless on Fischer's table and was sadistically being poked and prodded at.

"And you didn't even get the Devil Fruit! That was the only reason we stayed this long on this damned island and you know it!" Fischer growled, stabbing him in the side harshly- there was an especially anguished shout and Roddie cringed. "That's cracked… This whole excursion was a massive failure and we missed out on a major payday!"

"Fischer… stop." Roddie growled finally, turning to the patient. "Jones, report."

"You heard the announcement…" The blonde began with a slightly impressed grin. "I don't know what you're talkin' about when you complained about her being a pathetic weakling: She's definitely got balls for pulling a stunt like that."

Roddie pulled a face, "I never said she wasn't smart. Though I use that term loosely in this case."

"Really? After sicing Garp on my ass she also called for an escape ship for her and Mister Cowboy, Ace, we got anything on him?"

"Plenty. He's… _his_ kid." Roddie hummed. "But that's not important. I expected him to make a mess eventually, as all D's do."

Jones choked. "No way! You found out about that from…?"

"When we infiltrated Aokiji." Roddie nodded. "That icy bastards got more than enough secrets to keep us full for years. Continue."

A bit put out at having to drop that interesting tidbit Jones slumped and grumbled, "Well, I can't measure up to Garp, I'm lucky he couldn't fight seriously 'cause of those two hanging off his shoulders- the ones we tied up earlier, you remember? But I managed to move the fight by the docks and see that pair jump onto their waiting ship and take off. I would've gone after them too but then ya'll showed up and-" He gestured around them, wincing at the pain it brought. "Here we are!"

"Here we are…" Roddie repeated gently and groaned. "Great."

The Doctor clicked his teeth together. "You better have another cash cow. You owe me for putting up with those idiotic villagers this past year."

He sagged. "Yeah, I'll throw something together. We'll have to extort something and see if we can get a little extra on the side."

Jones huffed, "You're the one who refuses to pillage even though we're Pirates."

"We're Pirates." He deadpanned. "That doesn't mean we don't have morals. Well…"

He glanced at the frightening Doctor sadistically prodding Jones injuries way longer than was necessary.

"Some of us."

Jones let out a high pitched whine from the back of his throat. "Fischer, ow! Don't make me spit on you!"

"Try it and I'll cut you."

Roddie sweatdropped.

"Oh, and that little Varrie-girl skipped out on her medical bills, I will be expecting compensation."

"Of course you are."

"Woman didn't even need much work. All she did was have a bruise on her spine, and I can barely call it that, and she was such a whiner- complaining about neck pain." Fischer scoffed. "Only use she had was screwing up our plans…" He gave Roddie an annoyed look.

Who raised his hands up defensively, "Not my fault!"

There was a long sigh from him and Roddie buried his face in the crux of his thumb, glaring up at the ceiling. "Well, who knows what's in store for us from here on out- at least we can go back to piracy now that everyone's back on their feet."

Jones knocked a hand against his head, "Finally- after the mess that was Mariejois I thought we'd never get back out there!"

"And the Devil Fruit?"

"Leave it. I'm not opening that particular box of horrors today-" Roddie waved him off. "For now, the Creep Pirates are back in action. Our destination: The Grand Line!"

"Jonesy~" Roddie suddenly whipped around, tears pricking at his eyes, stomping on the ground like a petulant child, "My plans got ruined!"

"Please, don't start whining-"

_"But Jonesy!"_


	4. Gaimon's Island: Devil Fruits Are Weird! And Islands Are Stranger!

It was when she was struggling to her feet, brow furrowed in concentration, and trying her hardest to balance next to Ace a few hours away from Saigen's shore that she finally said, "Is it a bad time to point out that this is my first time being on a ship?" It was intensely harder than she'd thought it'd be to stand up straight. The ripple of waves beneath her feet were not helping her balance either. Ace gave her a surprised blink, but upon seeing her failure to stand seemed to nod his head in understanding, sweat dropping.

"Chehe, really? I couldn't tell."

"Your sarcasm is much appreciated." Quinn deadpanned and, as best she can, wobbles past him to take a seat. Ah, there. Nice and safe on the floor in crisscross applesauce. "No, really, I love it. It's an immense help."

Ace waves her off. "Don't worry about it Varela. I'll show you how to use- and be on- a ship properly!" He offered.

"Thanks. Good to have at least one of us knowing what they're doing…" She trails off, taking a moment to gaze in the direction of Saigen. The departure from Saigen wasn't a sad affair, it could only be described as quick. Quinn and Ace, both in a hurry to not be noticed by Garp and keep their pursuers off their tails, had jumped into the small two-person Marine ship that Quinn had requested in a stroke of genius and taken off. Not even taking the chance to wave goodbye to the islands inhabitants before they were being swept out to sea and out of range, left to stare at the dot on the horizon.

Not so much a dot now, Quinn let out a toneless hum, the island wasn't even visible anymore.

"It's a good thing you called for this ship. Varela." Ace scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Mine got destroyed in a storm and I barely made it to the island." It was a bit disconcerting hearing this from the guy who just offered to teach her how to operate a ship. But Quinn didn't let it get to her, instead ignoring that little tidbit and focusing on something a bit more pressing to her personally.

She narrowed her eyes at him thinly, thoughts stuttering to a halt in confusion.

"...Why do you call me that?"

When she poses the question its after a few awkward moments of silence and her trying to reorganize her bag.

"Call you what?"

And Ace doesn't get it. Not that she entirely expected him to. She chewed on her bottom lip in thought, thumb pressing against it. "That's weird." Actually, now that she thought about it he wasn't the only one. "Dahlia and Maple did that too. Well, when they weren't spouting nicknames like Varley."

Ace repeated the question, raising a hand slightly. "Call you what?"

"Varela, of course?" She said it as if it was a question, brow raising as his furrowed.

"Wait- that's… not your name?!"

"No, it is."

Oh.

"Oh," he deflated in relief, "then what's the problem?"

"It's my surname. It's just kind of… odd."

"Ah, wait- you introduced yourself as Quinn Varela, right?" At her nod he frowned, before his eyes lit up in understanding and he gave her a pitying look, "You can't introduce yourself properly."

"No. That's not it." Quinn denied dryly.

"You gotta introduce yourself surname, given name." Ace explained ignoring her denial. "Otherwise you're doing it wrong and people will get mixed up. Here, you try it out!"

"I'm Quinn Varela."

He made an X with his fingers, making a buzzer noise.

"Bouu! That's not right."

_"Quinn Varela."_

"Bou, you're bad at this!"

Quinn wanted to facepalm, "No, Ace, it's a... cultural difference? I'm not changing the way I introduce myself. Just call me Quinn from here on out, please."

"Quinn." He played with the name, unsurely. It was shorter and simpler than Varela at least, easier to say. He nodded and went to fiddle with his compass, they were headed North at the moment, hopefully far away from Saigen. "Ahuh- your cultures _weird._ "

"And here I was thinking you were polite." Quinn deadpanned. "And what're you doing?"

"Lookin' at this. See?" Ace waved a hand for her to come forward.

She rolled over to look over his shoulder, instead of struggling to stand up again, blowing hair out of her face. He had an overall quite blank looking map in his lap now and was holding a scraped and old compass in his hand. "I'm not much of a navigator, never been good at it, but…" He pointed to an empty space near the middle of the map. "I think we're right here?" He didn't sound too sure, Quinn frowned.

"That's quite a bit of ways away from Saigen… I don't think we've gone that far yet."

Ace shrugged, "'M guessing, mostly." He scratched his head. "And we're heading over…" he pointed. "Here. Yeah. I heard there was an island here at least."

" _Heard?_ "

"Overheard some guys talking about there being treasure there." It brought a wide grin to his face. "We're gonna get it!"

"If it's there."

Ace conceded unhappily, ".. _.if_ its there."

Quinn eyed the map. It didn't have much on it, but there was a large landmass at the bottom of the page and a few smaller outlines drawn near it- nothing that stood out though, and there was a lack of labels. "Which way did you come from?" She asked. It'd probably be smart to get an idea of the world around her.

"Hm? Oh, here." He pointed to the edge of the larger landmass, near the corner of the page. "From Mt. Colubo!"

"And how long did it take you to get to Saigen?"

"About… five days?" He tilted his head, "I got stuck in a storm though so it probably took longer than it should've. My ship got wrecked in it." Ace grumbles the last part under his breath. That boat had taken a lot of time to put together- especially since Luffy, the little jerk, kept sneaking on board and eating all his supplies the days before, and he had even taken the time to paint it.

Quinn blinked slowly. "But that's nearly double the distance and-" She looked back over her shoulder at what she had gotten the Marines to prepare. "I don't think we have enough food to last that long."

And she was pretty sure that Ace's appetite wasn't exaggerated, especially given how easily he devoured the basket of food he had on him before. She shuddered, covering her mouth. "You sure you wanna go for a straight shot? We could probably stop at somewhere closer and restock before-"

Ace's eyes practically lit up in barely held excitement. "I'm sure!" He turned back to the smile at the map. "I don't know what kinda treasure it is but I bet it's a lot! Imagin' the ship we could buy with that kind of money?"

She chewed on her lip, looking back at their food. It wasn't a lot. Maybe a few days if they were lucky, which, apparently she _was_ so… Okay. "I- it's your call, Ace. Let's just be careful with our food then."

He gave her a thumbs up.

Ah- this didn't feel like it was going to end well.

…

…

Quinn picked her way over the length of the boat carefully, not wanting to take a dive by accident or stumble, ignoring the gentle and hollow thump of her shoes on the base of the ship. It took a bit of effort to balance and step over Ace's splayed form, the ravenette more quiet than she ever would've expected. Even if he was by no means a silent sleeper. He didn't snore, no, not at all. But he could never in a million years be described as quiet. His breaths were deep and scratchy and every now and then he'd grumble out something in his sleep.

That wasn't even counting the fact that he tossed and turned and his hands would grab out searchingly, like he was used to having something with him. It made it harder to get around him.

The day had given way to night faster than either of them had expected and soon it was hard to see more than a few feet in front her, clouds taking over the sky and only letting the barest sliver of moon glow through.

Something latched onto her ankle and nearly sent her face first into the side of the ship.

Quinn glared ahead, not glancing down. "You're awake, aren't you?"

There was startling silence for a just a moment before Ace let out a weary groan caught somewhere between a laugh and being honestly annoyed, "You know what time it is? Why're you moving around?"

"No, I don't have a watch. And," she twisted around on one foot to scowl at him, hopping awkwardly, "Can't sleep. Can you let go?" He grumbles under his breath for a minute but does so.

Damn, she crouches down next to him to rub her ankle, he had a killer grip.

"Why not?" Ace laid back down, blearily rubbing his eyes.

"Hm?" Quinn stopped massaging her ankle long enough to tilt her head curiously at the question, he gave her a dry, tired look at the lack of answer. "Oh." The boat jostled her out of her thoughts. "Not used to being on a ship I guess."

Lo and behold her first time ever on a ship, not even a quality one, and it wasn't going super well. How surprising was that? Adding on that it was going to be for an extended period of time with a someone who she basically stalked without meaning to, yeah that was a…

Quinn coughed.

More than a little weird.

And that was probably the best way to put the feeling into words. 'Cause cutting straight to the point it was not the most comfortable of situations.

"You'll get used to it." Ace assured, or as best as he could considering he proceeded to nod back off without so much as another twitch. Quinn snorted unladylike at him, chuckling softly at the action. Huh. She wished she was him, Quinn thought jealousy. It would have been wonderful to lay back and do nothing but _sleep_ …

She shook her head, shuffling over to sit with her back against the side of the ship- it would probably do well to find a distraction.

Except there was literally nothing to do.

Nothing.

A lot of her chagrin was coming from the fact that Ace had basically nothing on himself besides the clothes on his back and what was in his bag, and Quinn was far, far worse off. Only having a bare minimum of necessities(if that) and a wad of crumpled up cash in a currency she didn't understand at all, not even a deck of cards to mess around with. So she was out of luck.

Until that thought caused her to freeze.

Quinn raised a hand up to her face, only getting out the vague outline of her palms and fingers.

She stared.

"How…" she spoke gently so as to not wake up Ace, "How do you work?"

Jones said that it was the Luck Luck Fruit so that made her a… Lucky Human then?

...That's _so lame._

"Power up!" She whisper-shouted.

Nope.

"I command thee…"

Na-da.

"Lucky prism power! Make-up!"

"Mhph-?"

No.

"It's morphin' time!"

 _"Snk_ \- che…"

Nothing.

"Let's see…" She hummed. A bit of a farfetched one- "Lucky-bots, Roll out!"

Not a thing-

"Chehaha!" Quinn jumped, gasping as Ace sat up suddenly and chortled. He lifted himself up onto his elbows and coughed into his fist. "What're you doing?" He asked.

Instead of answering right away, she instead ducked her head, shoulders hugging her neck, and asked politely, "Did I wake you again?"

He waved her off. "Yeah but no worries. Not anymore!" His eyes practically gleamed and he continued to look at her imploringly, grin slowly stretching wider and wider on his face. "What were you doing?"

"Just-" She bit her tongue. "Just trying to figure out how to use my Devil Fruit powers."

"I got that much," Ace grinned even sharper now. "But _what_ were you doing?"

She hung her head.

"...Being a massive dork."

The resulting cackle had her glaring at Ace venomously. "Oh, shut up! I don't know how these things are supposed to work. Especially with this sort of power." She hissed.

It only served to make his snickers simmer.

Taking way longer than it should've for him to come down from his high, he finally said, "I don't think catchphrases are going to help you figure it out."

"Look. I'm tired." She groaned.

"Chehe. Okay, okay," Ace raised his hands up in sign for peace, "Your powers luck right? That's what that guy said?"

"...Yes."

"Then does that mean you're just naturally lucky now? Or can you control it?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." She paused though, thinking it over. "But… I think it's definitely not the former. I'm not feeling any luckier than normal, in fact I think I've had some of the worst luck I've e _ver_ had these past few weeks. Which is saying something." Quinn glared up at the moon.

"Then it's simple!" Ace chirped and Quinn had to lean back because he was suddenly all up in her face, blinding grin set. "You just need to figure out how to control it!"

She pursed her lips.

And gave him a dead look. "...Any ideas there, Captain Obvious?"

"Well, Luck tells us absolutely jackshit, so… no." He says it rather cheerfully and Quinn has to facepalm. She has to.

She doesn't.

It takes an extreme amount of willpower.

Her eye twitches almost imperceptibly but Ace still catches it and has to hide his amusement.

" _Well,_ it's a good thing I just had something come to me then."

He blinks when she holds up a coin.

It wasn't hard to come up with. And it hit her abruptly, like a slap to the face.

"You up for a good ol' game of heads or tails?"

…

…

The game was all in all quite simple. Quinn decided the best way to go about experimenting with what was supposedly her power was to call on her experiences with sixth grade science and the Scientific Method. As in, guess what's gonna happen, why, and do trials.

Her and Ace's Assumption?

She'd always get it right. No matter what. Or, at least, would have way more wins than him.

Why?

'Cause she was a dumbass who ate a Devil Fruit and now has such an intangible and ungrounded power like _luck._

But that wasn't important at the moment.

To figure out how to use her powers they set up multiple, simple trials. Each trial consisting of twelve coin flips, to leave room for error and inconsistencies, and after each trial she would try something different to figure out how her power worked. Did it work naturally? Did she have to be the one to flip the coin? Did she have to be the one to guess? What if Ace guessed?

They continued on, with her marking down who got what right in her head and hopefully finding that her fruit worked for one of the attempts.

"Heads."

_Tails._

"Tails."

_Tails._

"Tails."

_Heads._

Newsflash, it didn't.

At all.

Every trial done and away with and they were each 50/50 on pretty much every single one of them. And on the ones where they were somewhere around 60/40 or 70/30 were all in Ace's favor at that! Quinn growled at the coin, eyes straining to see their failure in the dark. "Well that told us nothing."

Ace steals the coin and begins playing with it, flipping it himself and slapping it onto his wrist to see if he got it right. "Maybe it was a fake?" He suggested, grumbling as he got it wrong.

Quinn immediately wrinkled her nose and shakes her head. "No… Definitely not a fake." To be put through as much shit as she had been by Roddie it had to be real. There was also the fact that the absolutely rank taste it'd left was still in her mouth assaulting her taste buds even after all the time that had passed… yeah. It had to be real.

(Admittedly she hadn't actually tried swimming yet. Not wanting to experience drowning anytime soon.)

Ace hums, flipping the coin. "Then you just suck at this, huh?"

She shoves him, using her shoulder to bump into his. "Yeah," she rolled her eyes, "I can gather that much." She huffs, crossing her arms, dragging her thumb against her teeth thoughtfully. "But… I definitely used it at least once before. Remember when that gold stuff went up into the air? It kinda looked like smoke?"

"Uh-"

Ace falters in his catch. Staring at his shoulder.

"You mean this?"

"Huh?"

There. On Ace's shoulder where she had bumped him was a gold mark. He was shirtless so it wasn't that hard to spot the golden splotch of color standing out amongst his skin and freckles. Quinn's own gaze dropped to her own shoulder- oh. Her jacket had fallen down slightly.

"Is… Is that it?" She murmured. "Skin on skin contact?" Before eyeing the mark harshly and hurriedly gave him the coin, "Let's try again. I want to see what changed!"

This time Quinn expected herself to get the better score but no. Once again she was wrong.

_Ace steamrolled her._

"Heads."

_Tails._

"Heads."

_Tails._

"Tails."

_Heads._

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

"Chehehehe! You suck at this, Quinn!" Ace cackled. "Are you even trying?"

She ignores him.

"Well… that's unexpected." Quinn blinks at the mark. It faded, falling away into the same wispy smoke that she had seen before. Completely disappearing. "I think I… gave you luck."

They stared at each other.

And jumped up.

"NO WAY!" They shouted in unison.

Or, in Quinn's case, whisper-shouted.

"You gave me luck!"

"I… gave you luck?!" Quinn repeated. She didn't know whether to be horrified or excited so she settled somewhere uncomfortably in the middle of the two and pressed her hands together, covering her mouth. "That's so…"

Kinda lame but.

She'd figured it out!

"Cool!" Thankfully Ace filled in for her chipperly, keeping the mood positive. "It took my brother years to figure out how to use his Devil Fruit properly, it always ended in disaster, but you've gotten the hang of it way faster."

"I wouldn't say that…" More like she used it. Once. And it went well. Once. "Ah- your… brother?" She tilted her head, acting curious. "What fruit does he have?"

She didn't want to open that can of worms too far, but from the look on Ace's face he seemed more than ready to pop it open and spill it out all over the table. She almost immediately regretted the question the moment hr started talking. Almost completely forgetting that they had been talking about Devil Fruits in the first place. "My brother? His name's Luffy, he ate the Gum Gum Fruit and became a rubber man-!"

All things she knew. Not that he knew she knew.

Quinn held back a sigh but settled into reluctantly listen.

"-and he took this huge bite of watermelon and started spitting seeds out of his mouth like a gun at these farmers who got super pissed and started chasing after him-"

It was going to be a long night.

…

…

It was on the fourth day that they ran out of food and Ace's voice started to die after practically singing stories about his brother, Quinn knew that he was nowhere near out of material but she liked to hope, so the days were looking bleak. Especially considering that Ace was seemingly doing much worse than she was. He didn't complain, no. But he was definitely more irritable and his stomach was way louder than his mouth ever could be. She winced at a particularly loud gurgle.

He was splayed out on deck like a starfish, glaring up at the sun through the limited shade his hat provided.

Another thing- Quinn wrinkled her nose- Ace burned. Like real bad too, his arms peeled and he looked like a bright red lobster, sweat dripping down his face. Her own skin, darker than his by quite a bit, had always tanned so she'd never really had a sunburn experience. Thankfully. Still didn't mean that the pale scratches where he had rubbed the skin off were any less gross than they were.

She leaned over him. "Hey, Ace."

"...Whaaat?" He groaned, breathing hard.

"I think that maybe, just maybe, we should stop to restock for supplies next time before going to find some treasure island." Quinn smirked. "Just maybe."

Ace cast her a mutinous glare.

"Shuddup, Quinn." He slapped her away weakly.

Quinn let his hand hang on her face, not even blinking. "I found a pen. Wanna play tic-tac-toe?"

It was a sad state of affairs when Ace let her use his arm as paper to carefully trace out grids for them to play with- and the only complaint or question he asked was, "Why don't we use your body?" To which she simply glanced down to her sleeve covered arms and legs and the fact that the only part of her skin being even somewhat revealed was her collar and a slip of her stomach and gave him a stubborn but deadpan, "I'm shy." And a look to drop it.

Ace didn't know what it was. Maybe it was the fact that Quinn constantly sat in ways that Ace knew would drive Nobles crazy and make certain people blush, or the double layer of tank tops and the obvious bra straps showing without a care, or the shorts, or, most likely, the irritated look on her face when he asked the question, but he was pretty sure she wasn't shy.

"Do you wanna be X's or O's?"

"Always X's!"

"...That was a little fast of an answer." Quinn pointed out with no small amount of amusement as he took the pen from her and marked down his first spot, the center. "Any particular reason?

"When pirates mark their treasure on a map they always do it with an X, that means that's where the treasure is. Everybody knows that!" Ace explained. "Apparently the Marines, I heard this from Jiji surprisingly, used to also distribute fake maps with an X on it to get pirates to go to certain locations so they could catch them easily. But all those maps look really new so the older stories and maps are usually real. Or not. If there's an X that means there's treasure!"

Quinn nodded at the explanation, glancing down at the X written on his arm, and couldn't help but ask, "You really think you're a treasure?"

"Huh?"

It takes a minute for Ace to put two-and-two together but when he does Quinn has won the first round and he blushes so furiously and looks so taken aback that Quinn can't help but start laughing until he also chuckles, "I'm just kidding! I'm just kidding!" She's already drawing out another grid on his arm, "Kehehe. With a look like that on your face it almost makes me think you've never heard a joke before. Don't tell me you're that stuffy!" She raises both her eyebrows at him and watches as he grumbles and steals the pen away from her before she can get the first turn in.

"It was a dumb joke… and I'm not stuffy." He muttered. "Oh, hey, I won!" He stuck his tongue out at her.

"Oh, please." Quinn rolled her eyes, smirking as she brushed a gold mark over her own skin, "Now, let's play for real this time."

Ace gawked, "Oy, that's cheating!" He exclaimed.

"What- no, its not. I just have a bit of luck on my side." She gestured to the fact she'd rather literally marked it on her side. "And its more fun this way! For me, specifically."

He narrowed his eyes at her, sour.

"Besides, it'll help me get used to using my power." She reasoned.

Ace cut her off, "And also win."

"An added plus but sacrifices do need to be made."

Though tic-tac-toe was not a game she'd say relied on luck it was still one that she could try her powers out on. Monitoring when the mark disappeared, seemingly at every time Ace got distracted.

Hell, she had used it on him once and it'd looked like he was about to nod off at one point!

The games of tic-tac-toe commenced and then a new one, and another, and another, until Ace was drawn up to his sleeves and he was struggling to write on the ones covering his legs and abdomen. Quinn had to pull back a few times and hold back a laugh, struggling to keep it in at the comical sight. "Congratulations, Ace, you won. But only a quarter of the time." He glares at her, annoyed. "Wanna do one more? I think there's room on your neck still."

"No luck?"

"No luck." At the confirmation he agreed to do one more and Quinn had to describe it for him and mark it out herself since he couldn't see it in any way. "Oh, will you look at that? I still won."

Ace cursed, ears turning red, and he rolled away from her. "It's just cause I'd get distracted and forget where you put it last, damn it. I would've won otherwise!"

"...Are you pouting?" Quinn couldn't help but ask.

"No!"

He was pouting.

Quinn snickered, "Okay, tic-tac. Here, have this for your troubles." She leaned over, dangling a granola bar in front of his face and watching him light up blindingly. Jesus, even without a devil fruit he lit up like fire.

"You-" he snatched it up, with his mouth Quinn should add, and tore off the wrapper ravenously. Damn, he almost got a finger-! Quinn hissed. "Where did you get this?!"

"I found it in a side pocket in my bag."

"Aren't you hungry?" Ace asked, mouth full.

Quinn stared, disgusted. "Not anymore."

She shook her head, dusting herself off in case of any crumbs and stood up, the ship swayed a bit more beneath her and Quinn huffed at her inability to balance. "Oy, Quinn?" Ace asked suddenly, still chewing his food. He was looking up. "Is it just me or is that a really weird looking bird?"

She had to cover her eyes from the sun, sweat sliding down the side of her face, but- "No, it's not just you." She narrowed her eyes. All she could really pick out was the birds silhouette but even that was striking, to say the least.

It's neck was extended out and ribbed, an elongated beak that looked too sharp to be normal, and most notably it's wingspan was something else. Even from this distance Quinn could could tell that the bird was just humongous. Ace crunched down on the granola bar, gaze blank for a few seconds before he blinked boredly and rubbed a fist over his eyes, "Uh- Quinn?"

"Yes, Ace."

"Did it just drop something?"

"Yes. Yes it did."

Another second passed.

"Huh."

A shadow was quickly growing bigger and bigger and bigger above them. Ace and Quinn shared a blank glance, looked back up, then back at eachother and- "Oh shit! It's coming right at us!"

Okay, so they were a bit slow on the uptake.

It hit with a crash, sending up waves and water. Ace and her both jumped to the other side of the boat and slammed down with all their weight- just in time too, barely lifting the boat out of the way. And when Quinn said they were cutting it close they _really were cutting it close:_ the wood was slightly frayed and splintered from where whatever-it-was clipped the edge of the ship.

"What was that?!" Quinn hissed, crawling to the side of the boat. The water was completely unsettled and they were being blown a few feet away from the spot of impact, the waves making standing up in the ship even harder than it normally was.

Not that that affected Ace. He had one hand on the back of his hat and the other braced only slightly against the mast, brows furrowed. "Hey, was that screaming on the way down?"

Quinn paused.

It took her a minute to process what he said before Quinn managed to recall a gruff scream, even though she'd only managed to catch it for half a second.

Quinn blinked in shock at the pair of boots and hat that was suddenly stuffed into her arms, not even noticing when he had shoved them into her hands so he could jump into the water.

She shook her head. Watching the shadows under the surface as they seemed to collide and slowly began rising to the surface. The back of Ace's head was the first thing she noticed, he was carrying something in his arms.

"Over here, Ace!" She called. "Damn, that was fast..."

He hefted the… thing… into the ship.

It... was _weird._

"Devil Fruit brother." He offered in way of explanation.

"Right, well, I'll know who to turn to then. Should I fall in the water." She then frowned and Ace followed her gaze back over to the thing. "But… _what_ … is that?"

"It's a… Treasure Bush?" Ace tilted his head, wringing out his shirt.

"I know some people treasure their bush but usually that one involves burning. This is a bit too-" Quinn grimaced. "Literal. And far less stimulating for the senses." Well, other than the nose. It reeked something awful and it'd probably take her awhile before she could push herself to the point where she could ignore the smell.

Ace didn't even seem slightly bothered. Smirking at her, bemusedly. "You have weird euphemisms."

At that there was a loud groan followed by deep, hoarse breaths. Quinn and Ace jumped as the treasure chest shook and shuddered and a pair of dirt crusted Hobbit-like feet popped out of the dark confines opposite to the green bush-end. "What the hell?! It _is_ a person!" Ace exclaimed, somewhat disturbed and no less shocked as the box-man managed to take in a choked breath. "I was right when I thought I heard screaming!"

Quinn nodded along dumbly.

"Geh-gurk-hrrk!"

There came a fountain spray of water, straight up into the air.

"Ragh!"

That was…

...certainly weird.

"Phank Yous! I tho-" he slurred, water dripping out from the corners of his mouth. "I thought I was gonna die!"

"Lucky you fell near us."

" _Re_ al lucky." Ace agrees, with a glance at Quinn.

"What? I didn't do this."

She paused. Staring at her hands.

"At least, I don't think I did."

"D-Did what?" The box-man coughs and struggles to his feet. It's quite the sight. Quinn sweat drops. "I got here of my own accord-!" He exclaims. It doesn't take a genius to figure out he's lying.

"Really?" Both Ace's eyebrows shot up, amused and unimpressed. "Then what was with the bird?"

"A-Ah- you got me! It was a lie-" Wow. Who would've guessed? "-I-I was just carried here by one of the animals. I must've really pissed this one off if it carried me this far from the island."

"Island?" Ace perked up. "Animals? You mean that you're from that Treasure Island I heard about?!"

He froze at that. Suddenly stiff and mechanical as he looked at Ace, "How... How do you know about that?" He asked. And Quinn glanced between the two at the sudden shift in attitude.

"I overheard some guys mentioning that there was a treasure around here. Apparently people have been searching for it for years and years or something." Ace all but chirped. "Me an' Quinn are looking for it too!"

The box man's face fell, shrouded by his chia pet-like hair.

What was his name again? Quinn pursed her lips, eyeing the guy critically as Ace babbled on about why they were heading to the island, trying to shuffle through all the names she knew relating to this story. He's familiar in a sort of bothersome way and the name's on the tip of her tongue.

"I- I see. You're... treasure hunters then?"

"Nope! Pirates."

"Hm. I see, I see. That's good." Quinn frowned at him, it shouldn't sound like it was good to him. They just admitted to being pirates. "Then I guess you can forgive me for this."

"For what?"

If Ace noticed his creeping hand Quinn didn't let him get the chance to say anything before she was grasping the back of his shirt to tug him out of the way, calling out, "Gun!"

It was followed by her ear drums being assaulted by the sound of a shot. Quinn ignored the fact that she'd thrown Ace to the floor of the ship, eyeing the way that his hat had been flipped up to completely cover his face and was now sporting a sizable chunk missing from its brim, and grabbed the overgrown chia-pet by his hair with a hiss.

"Get off me! Get off me!" He howled, practically frothing at the mouth. "That's my treasure, you hear?! MINE! You can't have it!" He continued to holler.

Quinn wrangled the gun out of his hand, dropping him, and towered over the hobbit. "You asshole! We fished you out of the water and you pull a gun?!" Speaking of which, she glared down at the offending object, grimace falling away.

She has no idea what kind of gun she's holding. It's a pistol but that's pretty much all she can say.

...It's old?

"You know I'm kinda disappointed." And strangely offended.

What kind of asshole do you have to be to pull a gun from the 1600's on someone?

Ace furrowed his brow and glared at the sunlight peeking through the brim of his hat. The brim that was now… blown wide open. The material looking like it'd imploded on itself.

A scowl makes its way onto his face.

"What was that for, asshole?" Ace snaps, sitting up and letting his hat plop down into his lap. It looks completely lifeless, the material limp and hanging uselessly. And its state only serves to piss him off more.

He's vaguely aware that Quinn's holding onto the pistol like she's never seen one in her entire life and instead mutters a quick, but sincere, "Thanks," to her. He didn't need the help. He saw the gun before he'd even touched it and he'd dealt with far worse than some box gremlin with a trigger finger. It's the thought that counts though.

 _"You...!_ " The man grimaces before-

"I'm sorry okay! But this is my treasure, you got that?! And I won't let no Rookies steal what I've been protecting for seventeen years now!" He shouts defiantly, though there's sweat dripping down his face. "I'll die before I'll let some snot-nosed brats take it from me!"

Ace's eyebrows twitched.

"Is that so?"

Quinn pursed her lips. With his hat like that she couldn't tell exactly what he'd do- if it was anywhere near as important to him as the infamous Straw Hat was to the Protagonist then box-man was as good as dead. Though she somehow doubted that was the case.

"Well then..."

She's still not expecting the grin to take over his face.

"I guess we'll just have to get you back to your island so you can protect it properly!"

Nope. That was not what she was expecting. At all.

".. _.Hah?_ "

"You said it was your treasure right? And that you've been protecting it for seventeen years now? That's a long time. I bet you're insanely worried about it right now!" Ace chirped.

"I- I- y-yes?!" He looks about ready to cry. "Do you... mean it?! You'll take me back and you won't even think about touching my treasure?"

Ace confirmed, "You bet."

Oh damn. He really was crying now. They watched as he fell to his knees, seemingly overcome by gratitude. "I- Thank you so much! I can't believe it! Even after I shot at you and threatened you- thank you so much!

"Yeah, I can't believe it either." Quinn frowned at Ace, brow raised.

Ace returned the stare with a nod of his head towards the box-man, "You heard the man, he'd die before giving up his treasure. I'm not about to just kill him." He spun his hat in his hands, staring down at it. "Besides, seventeen years? It must be something really important to him if it's worth his life like that."

She opened and closed her mouth, not finding the correct words before settling somewhat on, "You are too kind-hearted."

Ace looked _very_ taken aback by that statement.

Quinn snorted. "I've got a few sewing supplies, I think. I can fix your hat."

That seemed to pull his mind away from the comment. Face lighting up like the sun, "What- really?"

"Yes. Really."

They were interrupted by sniffling and box-man hopping to his feet, rubbing away tears. "Thank you so much. You are much too kind, just like your crewmate said. I- I have to apologize for my earlier behavior. You saved me and I gotta thank you for that."

"No worries, my hat can be fixed!" He waved him off. "I'm Portgas D. Ace. Nice to meet you!"

"Gaimon."

Quinn nearly snapped her fingers. That's what it was! It was on the tip of her tongue this whole time. She realizes that their expected her to introduce herself when they turn to stare at her. "Oh, uhhh, Quinn... Quinn Varela?"

"Chehehe." Ace sniggered, sliding over to Gaimon and stage whispering, "She can't introduce herself properly. But don't point it out- she gets embarrassed."

Gaimon nodded in understanding. The pair shooting her pitying looks.

"...Do you want me to fix your hat or destroy it?"

"I didn't say anything!"

-0-

Quinn could feel her nose begin to itch and blinked wildly, eyes reddening and looking decidedly pained. Ace took one look at her face and didn't know if he should be worried or dying of laughter in her expense. Given that she was struggling to hide a sneeze behind her arm, sounding like a dying bird, he'd go with the latter.

Now. It should be noted that Quinn was usually pretty cool when it came to animals and the like. But coupled with the fact that the pollen was practically raining down from the trees and every breath she took she could feel her throat and nose clog a bit more… well, she could _not_ deal with it today.

"Chehahaha!"

"Shut the hell up Ace!" Quinn growled under her breath, pulling the strings on her jackets hood to try and protect herself. "The air is like poison here."

"What're you talking about?!" He cackled in disbelief.

"Allergies."

That only served to make him laugh harder.

Quinn pouted. Going to kick him in the shin, efforts dashed as he hopped out of range of her feet with ease. "Hope you get allergies… see how you like it…" She sneezed loudly as she caught an unfortunate whiff of air. "Never been in a place as bad as this. All the pollen, fur, and animals just make it worse." Gosh, and her eyes burned like they were on fire.

"You're allergic to _nature."_

"Shuddup."

"Che-!"

They'd managed to find their way to the so-called "treasure island" without much trouble. If "not much trouble" was Ace hovering over her shoulder and being a general pain in the ass as she attempted to start sewing his hat back together piece by piece while Gaimon cried tears of joy in the corner, pointing them in whatever direction he felt was correct.

Speaking of which, there came a sniff.

"E-Excuse me." They looked at Gaimon. "I can't thank you two enough!" He wiped his arm over his face. Ugh, he'd better not start crying. Quinn and Ace shared a look that spoke volumes of their uncomfortableness. "To think that'd you go out of your way to help me- it's incredible! You're amazing. I've never met a group of fellow pirates that would act so kindly to me and expect nothing in return. I'm so sorry that I was such a-"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that." Ace piped up, cutting him short in his apology, "We're starving! Got any food?"

"Yes, please. Food. Of any kind."

"F-Food?" He stuttered. "Y-Yes, I can show you where to pick up food but-" He gave them a suspicious look. "Don't touch any of the animals."

Quinn sniffed. "Wasn't plannin' on it." As if on cue, she sneezed. Ace snickered at her.

"So long as we get something to eat- it's been days! I could eat anything!"

Gaimon seemed a bit reluctant but he wiped his face with his palm and nodded. "Alright then. Getting you some food shouldn't be too much trouble, especially after you went out of your way to help me! It's the least I can do."

_Oh thank god._

Quinn was breathing out a sigh of relief. The thought of food of any kind was enough to have her drooling and her stomach growling even worse than it already was. Of course that was nothing compared to Ace. He was practically salivating waterfalls as he hopped after Gaimon, stomach sounding like a goddamn whale even from where she was standing.

"So where are we headed?"

Looking around the island, it didn't seem nearly as big as it had from the shoreline, in fact, if she squinted, Quinn would bet she could see to the other side of the island through all the trees that surrounded them. It was much smaller than expected. It didn't look inhabited either, no sign of Gaimon having a hut or anything. A real bush man then, huh?

"I've got just the watering hole. It's got anything you could want from there!"

"Oh, any fish?"

Gaimon practically sprang five-feet into the air as he whirled around, "No! No fish! Don't touch the animals!"

Ace shared a bemused look with Quinn, brow quirking. "You said that already, didn't think fish was included. So why not?"

"Well- that is, you see- a lot of pirates have come to this island over the last seventeen years only they aren't after the treasure here. They're all after the animals." He scowled darkly, not that they could see. "They'd fetch a nice price."

"The animals? What's so special about them?"

As if asking that question had an effect on the island around them Quinn slowed to a stop as a rather interesting group of birds hopped out along a tree branch, each of their wings held up in what might've been a salute from the looks of it. She felt her mouth drop open in sheer surprise. They were covered beak to talon in a mix of black and white fur.

"P-Panda-birds?"

They were some of the cutest things she'd ever seen in her life.

Ace let out his own noise of surprise, practically sparkling as he picked up some crazy creature off the ground, turning to show it off to her. "Oy, Quinn! Check out this weird snake!" It had quite the set of fuzzy bunny ears and bucked teeth.

"That's amazing!" Momentarily forgetting her allergies she let the creature wind up her arm and let out a rather odd hiss at her. "They're like hybrids. And it's such weird mixes too…"

Gaimon gaped at them. Then his face turned red with anger. "HEY! I said don't touch the animals, ya hear!"

They had the decency to look guilty as Quinn set the snake-rabbit back onto the ground. "'Sorry." They muttered in unison. Though Ace bowed in what she assumed was the appropriate manner.

Quinn added a painful sneeze for pathetic effect.

She shouldn't have picked up that snake…

Gaimon huffed at them. "So you can see why people come after them?"

"Yep!"

"I wouldn't worry about us though." Quinn sniffed.

Ace gave her a cheeky grin, "Yeah, even if we took one I think you'd die before we got more than a few hours out." She sent him an annoyed glare.

"So long as you understand and don't try anything…" Gaimon shook his head. "Hear we are: the watering hole!"

They would like to say that it was a majestic place filled to the brim with opportunities of food and quelled hunger but that'd just be even more disappointing. It was just a freshwater pond surrounded closely by bushes covered in berries, nuts, seeds and mushrooms. Of course, Ace was shooting past her and grabbing handfuls of what looked to be a rather suspicious looking plant but Quinn couldn't be sure, muttering, "I don't know what I was expecting."

She poked a mushroom that looked like it'd had a bite taken out of it. It was secreting something goopy and white. "Uhh… Are you _sure_ that these are edible?"

"I haven't died yet!"

"...That's not very reassuring."

But she sighed and got to work collecting food, sneaking bites of things that looked moderately okay to eat. They'd need food once they got back on the road- er, _sea._

Ace happily munched on whatever he could get his hands on. Making sure to ignore the snap or hiss of an animal every so often, or tuck some cool looking creature out of the way so he could get at an armful of something else. To him this place was practically a goldmine. Even if he couldn't hunt something down and eat it. "Quinn, let's get those old barrels we have and fill them up!"

"Already on it."

Nice. He grinned. They were not gonna run out of food again if he could help it.

The day went on and Ace and Quinn were in no hurry to jump back on their ship and take off, needing to stretch their legs and gather food. Gaimon seemed to enjoy their presence, apparently he hadn't spoken much to the previous groups that landed on his little island and instead scared them off with some sort of god-voice effect, but even as he jabbered on with them and asked every last question he could think of about the outside world they could tell that every time one of them left his sight for more than five minutes he'd grow increasingly uncomfortable and antsy.

Quinn settled down, falling into a seat across from the fire they'd set up at some point once it started getting darker. Her eyes and nose were a furious looking red and she looked absolutely miserable. "You know I'm kind of surprised you didn't point out Ace's tic-tac-toe mess."

"As a pirate you learn to not comment about people's strange tattoos." Gaimon winced. "It can lead to some pretty bad reactions."

"Kehehe. Oh, those aren't tattoos."

"They're not?"

"Yeah. We just didn't have any paper."

That was enough to send Gaimon into roaring guffaws.

"What'cha guys laughing about?" Ace asked, sliding down from a tree and munching on an apple. "Hey, Quinn, you should try these. They're really good!"

She just barely caught the fruit before it went flying over her head, mumbling a small thanks, "I was just mentioning how I kicked your ass in tic-tac-toe and-!"

"You didn't! You cheated!" Ace exclaimed, cutting her off. His finger shoved into her face.

"All's fair in love and war."

"It was just a game of tic-tac-toe!"

They paused as Gaimon's laughter tapered off and he wiped his eyes, "Ah- it's so good to be around people again after all these years! You two are amazing!"

It had Ace flustered and Quinn rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. The two of them muttering an almost inaudible 'thanks'.

Quinn shook her head, mind getting back on track. It was late now. Not quite night but dark enough it was beginning to get a bit hard to see and starting to make the wildlife around them spooky. "So what was the deal with that big bird we saw?"

"Huh?"

"You know, the one that dropped you by us."

Ace piped up to voice his own concerns. "If it pissed you off and you want to get rid of it I could take care of that!" He grins wickedly. "Bet it'd taste good…"

Gaimon doesn't seem impressed by the offer. She was almost thinking of pinching him but decided not to, instead giving Ace a dry look. He was just hoping for the chance to grab some actually meat.

-Which, she could understand. But she had the mind to keep her mouth shut.

"Oh, yes. Well-" He coughed into his fist, cheeks burning a bright red. He scratched at his moss covered head and Quinn tried not to wrinkle her nose at the dried crumbling dirt that fell off him. "It's a bit of an embarrassing story, really."

"More embarrassing than getting trapped in that box?"

"...Hey, that was a serious accident! It could've happened to anybody!"

Quinn and Ace shared a glance. No. No it couldn't have.

"Grk- you see, it all started about a week ago," he huffed, deciding that he might as well explain, "when one of the squirrel-flamingos laid some eggs." Not the answer either of them were expecting but they motioned for him to continue. "I was just so excited that I'd check up on them every day. But then…"

_It was a struggle but it'd all be worth it for just a peek. Gaimon's feet scraped along the tree trunk as he climbed, fists full of leaves and handfuls of bark. With one last heave he managed to pull himself the rest of the way up._

_There. Among the branches, lay the most beautiful looking eggs he'd ever seen. It was almost enough to bring a tear to his eye._

_That is, until, the largest bird on the island leaned down to stare at him. Gaze absolutely murderous with maternal protection._

_He'd screamed as he was picked up by its beak and flown far, far out of sight of the island. The only thing out among the deep blue ocean beneath him was a curiously boat-shaped dot. And then he was falling._

"It was the squirrel-flamingo's mother that dropped me!"

"Chehahahaha!" Ace pointed at him and laughed, watching his face color several different shades. "You deserve it then!"

"Shut up! No I didn't it!"

"You did! You idiot! You don't go into another animals territory unprepared!"

Quinn nodded. Ace had a point.

That said, "Who knew squirrels were such a malicious species?" Quinn mused.

"No not the squirrels!" Gaimon shook his head. "It's all the flamingos part."

"...The flamingos?"

"Ain't those the big pink birds?" Ace asked. "Nobles have all these weird things with them on it that they put in the ground wherever they want."

"Yeah. Wait- Why would they just shove it in the ground randomly?"

"Don't know. You tell me."

"I- How would I know-" She shook her head, turning back to Gaimon. "We talking about the same big pink birds?"

He seemed to pale. Nodding frantically, "They're the most vicious animal on the whole island! Even the tiger-bears and lion-pigs cower before them."

She frowned, brow furrowing. "...So they're like… Geese?"

That was sort of understandable. Geese were viscous.

"No, they're like Flamingos!" Gaimon said incredulously.

"...I don't think we're on the same page."

"Chehaha. Why is this so hard for you to get Quinn?" Ace chuckled, poking her in the cheek. He sounded kinda condescending. She almost bit his finger. Settling instead on fixing him with the most disgruntled look she could muster.

"Sorry. Just can't see it."

Gaimon looked on at her with pity.

"I hope you never have to figure it out. Flamingos are one of the most violent and destructive birds." He clapped his hands together, as if to share some great wisdom. As far as she was concerned he was just spouting bullshit. "They will lead the world on a path of destruction - and pink feathers."

She opened her mouth to say something. Fell short. Opened it again and settled on: "What the _fu-_ "

"But enough of that! It's getting late."

He practically conked out then and there. Leaving Quinn with her hand halfway thrown up in sheer incredulousness with her mouth hanging open, eye twitching, "uh-huh?!" Expression decidedly pained.

She leaned over to Ace. "Do you have any idea what he was going on about?"

"Oh. Not a freaking clue."

"Hm."

It was a small comfort.

The minutes ticked by and the quiet between them grew more than a little awkward. Especially hearing how Gaimon snored. Quinn found herself shifting uncomfortably, feeling Ace eye her out of the corner of his eye.

"...Thanks, by the way."

"Huh?"

"For pulling me out of the way of the gunshot."

"Oh. Sure."

Yeah, you'd think after spending the better part of a week with someone in a small, confined space it'd be enough to not have long awkward spans of time where no one said anything. But look where they were now.

"Don't do it again. I can take care of myself."

"...Sure."

Sounds like someone was a bit pissy too. For someone so prideful you'd think he wouldn't have surrendered to Gaimon's plea after he shot at him. Quinn frowned, oh? There was a thought.

They sat in silence for a few moments longer.

"So when are we gonna go look for the treasure?"

"We can go now."

Yeah, that seemed about right.

-0-

It was pitch black. Darker than it had any right to be. Because of the lack of light they were left stumbling through the forest like a pair of drunken teens. Feet catching on roots and nearly running face first into a tree, Quinn grumbled as she glared at Ace's silhouette. He was trying to wave her off.

"Go further away!"

"What- why?"

"'Cause I…" It came out mumbled.

"What?"

"I need to…" Mumbled. Again.

If it was lighter out she would've been able to see his ears turn red.

"Ace, what're you even saying?"

"Piss break." He hissed, red faced. "Go 'way."

"I can just stand behind a tree and face away."

"N _o!_ Shoo!"

She swore, throwing her hands up. "Why? You act like I haven't heard you piss in the week we've been trapped on a boat together!" Of all times for him to suddenly become bashful.

"Right. We were stuck together so it couldn't be helped. This is different!"

Quinn couldn't help but let out a breathless laugh. "God, you are so friggin' weird, Ace. I don't understand you at all." She turned away. "One second you're completely nonchalant and audacious, the next you're acting like a shy Japanese schoolgirl from a bad rom-com anime-"

"It's the principle of it!"

She put her hands up in surrender.

"Go away, Captain's orders!"

"I'm going! I'm going! Call me when your done."

The first time he'd ever pulled the Captain card and it was to take a piss. Quinn couldn't help but snort and shake her head.

This was ridiculous.

Whatever.

In looking for the treasure that Gaimon and Ace had talked about Quinn could vaguely remember that there was actually nothing on the island but a bunch of empty chests. That said she could not for the life of her figure out where the hell those chests actually were. And it was bothering her.

On... a cliff? She _thinks_ that's right.

Quinn purses her lips and tries to squint through the dark.

Cliff... Cliff... Cliff...

" _Psst_ \- Quinn."

She ends up punching first.

"GAH- what the-" Ace nurses a busted lip and Quinn hisses, holding her wrist. "OY! QUINN!" He seethes. "What the hell was that for?!"

"You scared me! Don't jump out like that!"

"I called you. Twice!"

"I- You did?"

"Yes!"

"Then why were you being so creepy about it?"

"Creepy?! I wasn't being creepy at all!"

"You were..." she tried to find the word, "lurking."

" _Lurking?!_ " He chokes as he repeats it, sounding absolutely incredulous. And a little bit peeved. "I was not. You just weren't paying attention."

Her shoulders hug her neck and she looks away, "That's... one theory."

"...You punch harder than I thought you would." Ace grumbles, pulling his finger away from his bloodied lip. Quinn doesn't know whether to be offended or not, wondering just how much he thought she'd pull her punches. "Don't do that again."

"Don't lurk and we won't have a problem." He shoots her a look and she raises her hands up defensively. "What? You don't walk up behind a woman in the dark. Everybody knows that! We got instincts, ya know?"

He continues to give her _a look_.

"I'm just saying..."

Still doing it.

"Okay, I overreacted! Happy?"

She throws up her hands and pushes past him when that doesn't change his reaction at all. "Whatever! I think I saw something over this way, let's check it out."

Ace's face breaks, "Chehaha!" He laughs. "You cracked really fast. Don't get all bent out of shape over it Quinn." He pushes past her. "Anyways what'd'you see? Was it treasure?"

"No but it's better than trees and flat land. It's a big rock."

"...I'm not sure if you've noticed, Quinn, but that's not much better."

"Mn- Well, it's more of a mini-mountain, really."

"Really?" He looks. "I don't know- I'd say it's more of a steep hill. All the way around."

"It's like the island thought about having a mountain but gave up part way through..."

Ace thinks that's just called a hill.

"Think anything is up there?"

"Wanna do a coin flip with my fruit powers? Yes, heads. No, tails."

He lit up at the suggestion. "That's a good idea! Let's do that!" Maybe her Devil Fruit was useful after all. Quinn pulled out the coin they used from before, flipping it up and slapping it to her wrist. Ace peered down at it. A grin splitting across his face. "There is! C'mon, let's climb up!"

"A-Ah- Shouldn't one of us stay down here-"

"No way! You climb too!"

Well there went that plan out the window.

Quinn glared up the rock. It was incredibly sheer but Ace had already managed to pull himself up a few feet. They couldn't even see the top of it in the dark. She grumbled, scrabbling up the wall after him. Or trying to. She cursed as the grip she had crumbled beneath her hands, sliding back down.

"Careful, Ace! The walls not stable!"

He opened his mouth to say something but cut off.

"Ace?"

Quinn frowned when there was no answer, dusting a mark of gold over her hand and flipping the coin again. "Hmph." She twitched as she checked it, taking two big steps back and away from the rock.

As if on cue the moment she moved there was a loud thud, the sound of rocks crumbling, and a distinctly surprised yelp. Quinn had the decency to wince before crouching down next to the collapsed Ace. She leaned over him. "Hey, Ace."

"...Whaaat?" He groaned, breathing hard.

"I think that maybe, just maybe, you should be more careful next time." Quinn smirked. "Just maybe."

He scowled, eyes narrowing. "Are you going to do this every time?"

"No. B _ut_..." He groaned at the but. "I like to think of myself as a voice of reason. And I think you're gonna be quite the folly to it." A smile quirked itself over her lips.

"That's-"

A twig snapped.

He faltered. Quinn simultaneously froze when she heard a loud gasp. "Oh. That's not good." They muttered in unison, turning to spot Gaimon, gaping at them in disbelief.

"Y-You- You-"

They winced as he stuttered, slowly raising an accusing finger.

"Uh- it's not what it looks like?"

That didn't work.

"YOU'RE AFTER MY TREASURE AFTER ALL!"

"Yeah. Sorry?"

Gaimon's face contorted in rage, "NOBODY TOUCHES MY TREASURE! YOU- YOU DAMN PIRATE SCUM!" He roared. "GET OFF MY ISLAND!"

Quinn couldn't help but glance around as the forest suddenly burst into low growls and high pitched hisses. She had a bad feeling about this.

"Oh, yeah?" Ace just had to go and challenge him, a cocky grin on his face. "You and what army?"

"Uh- Ace-?" She took a step back as shadows slowly began to appear out of the corner of her eye and inch towards them. "I think... that army." He followed her gaze.

"Oh."

"GET THEM!" Gaimon shouted.

" _Ah._ "

Quinn squeaked as they were forced to take off running. Dodging fluffy feet, scaly talons, and toothy maws of hybrid animals trying to take them down on their way out.

"Oh, that one looks tasty-"

"Less talk, more run!"

They hit the deck of their ship and were far out at sea before the animals and birds finally let up, nursing scratches and teeth marks and clothes just a bit ripped up. Quinn collapsed onto her back with a loud groan, heaving as she tried to recatch her breath and steady her beating heart.

"Oh, I hope this isn't going to be a thing..." She moaned. "Being chased off every island that we go to is not going to be fun."

"Chehaha. It's not that bad, Quinn? Besides, we're pirates, I kinda expect that to happen."

"Ugh. Unfortunately."

Well, she took in a deep breath, for once her sinuses feeling like they weren't clogged, at least she could breath again.


	5. Belle I: Entering A Fishy Situation! Rough Currents And Even Rougher People!

The heat wasn't as bad as it had been. Ace was less burnt than usual but was still peeling something awful and scratching ruthlessly at his wrists with an uncomfortable expression. It didn't take a genius to realize that he was in pain and she pursed her lips. "Stop that." But Quinn was much more disgusted by the rubbery shine of burnt flesh and the flakes of dead skin to really focus on that.

Ace didn't stop.

"Stop it."

Quinn scowled, looking up finally.

"Stop."

Ace paused, glaring down at his skin with contempt. "Why?"

"For a number of reasons, really." She muttered curses as she fumbled with the needle in her hand and accidentally stabbed herself. Oh, ow. "Mostly because it's gross."

Ace pulled a face at the answer, clearly disgruntled. "Feels weird…" He muttered stubbornly.

"It'll leave scars." She tacked on. "Also, it'll hurt worse if you get another sunburn on top of it- damn it! Again?!"

"Ah- you don't have to do that. I can-"

"No." Quinn immediately denied stubbornly. She glared harshly at the needle and thread in her hand. "I can sew just fine- it's the damn waves that are throwing me off."

Ace turned to stare into the water and agree.

She was right, the waves were beyond turbulent. Not stormy, but naturally ferocious- Quinn would describe it as lowkey whitewater rafting. Only without any form of control for her or Ace. They had been swept up in some sort of current an hour or two ago and hadn't been able to do anything really, even attempting to row tore up the paddles they had on board the moment it went more than a few inches deep.

Which, while concerning, there didn't seem to be anything they could do about it, so Quinn continued the task that she had given herself with an out of character ironclad will. So, before Ace could even attempt to put his bullet ridden hat back together, she had taken it and had begun meticulously putting it's pieces back together because it surprisingly hadn't lost any of its fabric and only needed to be woven back into place.

She was good at sewing. It had been something she'd spent hours and hours being taught and even more hours experimenting with and was one of the few things that she was confident in her own skill to do well. But, coupled with the waves slapping their boat around like they were in a pinball game and the already tough material that the hat was made out of, that skill was pretty much made null and void as she stabbed herself for probably the twentieth time since beginning. There was even a particularly bad one that had gotten under her nail that was slowly filling up with blood and a stinging, frustrating pain. Quinn muttered under her breath quietly, ignoring Ace's bemused look.

"What?"

She was a bit snappish.

And Ace was kind of amused watching her get more and more frustrated and having to tear out a missed stitch and retry it from scratch. He rested his cheek on the palm of his hand, absentmindedly still scratching at his wrist. "You're really getting into that, aren't you?"

"Yes, I suppose I am." She twitched, glancing at him. "My abuela taught me how to sew. So I _better-_ "

She stabbed herself. Again.

"-make this absolutely perfect!" Quinn huffed out a low breath of discontent. "And will you stop getting dead skin everywhere!" She kicked him in the thigh.

Not hard, mind you, but enough to get her point across.

Ace yelped. "I wasn't- ah." He coughed into his fist awkwardly when he realized that he _had_ in fact been tearing the skin away again. "Your e-boo-lah?" He changed the subject quickly.

"It means grandmother. And it's abuela."

"Why don't you just say grandmother then?"

"Habit. She wasn't bilingual like me and refused to respond to anything that wasn't Spanish. And why wouldn't I call her by what she wants?"

Quinn brought the hat up to eye level, narrowing her eyes at the orange stitches that matched the hat's color perfectly. It was definitely lucky that she had managed to find thread in the correct color because she refused to mismatch the stitches in any way. Oddly enough, the hat had a pattern of stitches on its edges and circling around the brim- a cute decoration that she was determined to copy once she finished the actual repair work on the hat. Though, at this point in time, she was way more focused on mending the break so it looked more natural and even better than it had before. "How long have you had this hat?" Quinn asked.

The dye was somewhat faded. Especially at the top of it. Like it had spent way too long under the sun and had dried out like a prune as a result. From what she knew about Ace's time running around in a forest with limited protection from the elements she was willing to bet that that was exactly what happened.

That was, surprisingly enough, the worst thing about it, if you excused the bullet hole. It looked incredibly well cared for and the smiley faces and beads shined like they were brand new- a feat in itself because Quinn was willing to bet that if they went so much as a week without being taken care of they would be smudged with dirt or, at the very least, be duller than they were.

"Few years." Ace answered shortly. "My brother gave it to me on my birthday, maybe?"

"Maybe?"

"I think."

"You _think?_ "

"I don't remember!" He laughed, completely unconcerned. "Why do you ask?"

She pursed her lips, "You should see about redying it."

"Ah, yeah- I was planning on it but I don't want to mess up and ruin it." He frowned thoughtfully. "I'll probably try it once we're in a place that's not, you know, as bumpy." He gestured and, as if to prove his point, they hit a particularly nasty bump that had Quinn grunting and throwing a hand out for balance.

"Uh- that is a terrible idea." Quinn bit out thinly, changing her grip on the hat. "You do know that you can pay people to do it for you, right? Someone who has experience. And is their literal job to know how to do."

And given that she doubted this world had the concept of an assembly line in anything that wasn't built on slavery and/or governmentally funded it probably wouldn't be too hard to find a master seamstress or someone else who could dye it for him without completely destroying the hats integrity like she would assume Ace would.

He'd definitely mess it up.

Definitely.

He'd do well at first, but then he would mess up horribly on the final step or something and ruin it. Quinn was calling it now.

"Hell, I could probably do it. And I've only tie-dyed things." She paused before adding. "That wasn't an offer by the way. I'd probably mess up too. Or not use the right dye or something. Find a seamstress, you get me?"

Ace blinked at her in surprise, "Wait- they'll do that for you? I thought that…" He trailed off, thinking it over. "Oh. I guess they would, wouldn't they?"

"If you pay them the right price."

They hit another bump.

"Godammit, this is getting ridiculous!" Quinn snapped furiously, ignoring Ace's confused head tilt at her exclamation. "What the hell is up with this current?!" The waters they were stuck in were only serving to make her mood get worse and worse.

Ace whistled at the waves hitting the side of their ship. Not so much as moving an inch from his cross legged sitting position despite the harshness. In contrast Quinn was surprised she hadn't rolled out of the boat by now, barely able to keep herself up straight long enough before she was almost being sent sprawling to the other side of the boat. Ace took one look at her face and laughed. "Chehahaha! You're not used to this are you?!"

She gave him a dark look and tore out another failed stitch a bit more aggressively than she probably should have.

He raised his hands up in surrender, "I was joking- just joking! Don't hurt my hat!"

Huh. Note to self, in order to get Ace to do whatever you want: hold his hat hostage. Good to know. Quinn rolled her eyes, "I'm not going to hurt your hat. You think so low of me." They hit a bump. Quinn bit her tongue to keep the yelp in, "...ow…"

"Okay, stop sewing." Ace finally ordered with an exasperated twitch of his eye. "This is just getting painful to watch."

Did Quinn whine with all the skill and expertise of a stubborn and graceless child? Why yes, yes she did. "Noo…" And further hid the needle that was now stabbed rather deep into her palm, not that she needed to since Ace already saw it and was giving her an unimpressed look. Quinn returned it with a blank one of her own before sighing and yanking the needle out with little more than a wince, "Fine. I'll put it away for now- but no wearing your hat until I'm completely done!" She slapped his hand away lightly when he went to reach for it back. "I don't want you to loosen or pull any of the stitches."

He grumbled but at least didn't try again, nodding in acceptance.

Quinn pulled out her bag and carefully put it inside so that it was wrapped by cloth, and so that it wouldn't end up getting bent out of shape anytime soon, slinging the strap over her head.

"Is it just me or have these currents been getting even worse?" Ace asked, peering into the water. "They're not- _sppf!_ " He sputtered when he got a face full of water spraying him in the face.

"Kehehe-" Quinn tried to muffle the quiet shriek of laughter that threatened to spill, taking in his sopping wet face with no small amount of amusement.

He gave her a dry- er, wet look.

"Y-Yes, they've been getting quite a bit harsher. I'm surprised you didn't notice from my complaining."

"..Figured you were being dramatic..."

" _Hey."_

"Huh, maybe I just- woah!"

Both Quinn and Ace threw out their hands quickly to try and catch themselves as the boat suddenly dipped and jerked, nearly sending Quinn rolling out. And she grunted as her chest slammed into the side of the ship, barely able to catch herself on the woods edge. There was a great creaking noise and the boat shuddered beneath them. It took a couple of blinks to realize that they had been completely turned around.

"Ah- it stopped." Quinn noticed with a note of surprise in her voice. The waters had calmed; they fell unmoveable, still and undisturbed by anything but a few ripples. Ace ooed at it and Quinn was quick to follow. "That's… amazing!" Quinn breathed, face flushed with childlike wonder.

Ace followed up with a more crass exclamation. "That's so cool!"

And it really was.

Beneath the still surface of the water a storm brewed fierce and wild. Long, whirring currents that ripped and tore in savage loops without so much as unsettling the waters on top. Adding onto that fact the water was startling clear, to the point that they could pick out the beginnings of reefs- the torrents of water twisted through them, like pathways leading along.

Quinn gaped in disbelief. Trying to figure out how it was possible for the water to move in such an unnatural and beautiful way.

...Ace stuck his hand in the water.

 _"Yeeow!"_ He sucked in a yelp, ripping his hand back out. "What the hell?! It-"

Quinn facepalmed, roughly hitting him in the shoulder with her own. Again, not hard enough to actually do anything other than catch his attention. "Well don't touch it!"

"It tore my hand up?"

"Huh?"

Woah.

"See?!"

Quinn ran a hand through her hair in a mix of shock and awe. "-Are you okay?"

He had stuck his arm in up to the elbow and, from the tip of his fingers to the middle of his wrist, the skin was absolutely shredded, like someone had taken a potato peeler to it. It wasn't deep cuts, no, but there was a fine outer layer of skin hanging off his arm and Quinn couldn't help but hiss in sympathy.

"That… looks like it hurts."

"Hm? Not really?" Ace waved her off, still focused on the stripped off skin. "It's mostly superficial."

Quinn narrowed her eyes in disbelief, eyeing the injury. He wasn't bleeding much, in fact probably no more than the blood she'd gotten from the needle pricks on her fingers. Still, "Yeah, _superficial._ " She was calling bullshit.

Ace was already back to looking at the water and Quinn took the sudden calmness to stand up, steadying herself on the ships small mast. "This is so cool…" Ace muttered gleefully, eyes wide and inching dangerously close to the water again. "It's like the currents are just out of range of our ship. I mean, look! I think it's strong enough to tear wood apart."

"Don't touch it again!" Quinn snapped back over her shoulder. "But uh… I think you're right." She paused, "I think there's what- several inches before those torrents start? And that space is what's keeping us safe." It wasn't a hard conclusion to come to, more of a guess than anything, but it was evidenced by the fact that they weren't currently capsized and that Ace had only been hurt up to his wrist. That's what? Six? Eight inches?

Not a lot of leeway.

"The currents look harsher the further they go down." Ace added. "Hey- wait- they're beginning to disappear." At that he nearly capsized them by just standing up and Quinn stumbled to try and catch her bearings. "Wha- no!" He jumped up, chasing the torrents all the way to the back of the boat. Quinn gripped the mast harder as he shoved past her. "Quinn, let's turn the ship around! I wanna see what's up with those currents!"

"That's not such a good idea."

At her tone he frowned and looked up at her. Quinn didn't acknowledge the pressed look on his face, simply pointing back the way they came. "Look."

Ace followed her finger.

Oh, yeah. So it wasn't such a good idea after all.

There was an obvious line of white spray where they had come from but beyond that it was as if the waves were even harsher than they could have ever imagined.

Ace blinked, "Did we come through that?"

It looked like it could easily tear their boat to shreds.

And oddly enough, it looked even harsher than the waves they'd dealt with coming in.

"Yeah…" Quinn hummed thoughtfully. "I don't know about you but I don't think we'll be able to get back through that without, you know, drowning. Me much faster than you." She chewed on her lip, glancing at him. "Unless you wanna go for it?"

Ace flushed, "Oy, don't tease me! I'm not stupid-! I'm not gonna head straight in to obvious danger like that, especially when it could kill you too."

"Huh?" Quinn blinked. "I wasn't teasing. I was being serious. If you really want to make a go at it and see if we'll make it out then it's fine. I mean, we'd most likely die but…" If he wanted to play his chances then she wasn't about to stop him, she eyed the waters indifferently. Hey, could she use her fruit to get them through? If it was based on chance then she probably could- wait, no. She'd probably have to effect the boat too and Quinn was pretty sure her fruit was limited to living things. She ran her hand along the mast. Yeah, no. That wasn't going to work anytime soon.

Ace stared up at her with an expression of vague horror.

"What? What's with that look?"

"You'd let me steer the ship into waters that'll clearly kill us." He asked in disbelief. "If I _wanted_ to."

Oh, when he put it like that…

Quinn held her hands up in defense. "Man, I don't know your life!" A poor defense.

"It'd kill you too!" Ace snapped, slapping the air.

"Oh, right."

"You _forgot_?!" He exclaimed before shaking his head, amused. "You're… weird, Quinn."

"Thanks." She muttered and turned back to the front of the ship. There were tiny bits of land beginning to pop up, nothing more than rocks with moss so far but she could pick out the shadow of an island in front of them. "An island's coming up."

"It is?!" Ace whipped around to spot it, a grin forming on his face. "That's great! And it looks like it actually has people on it too!"

"Hopefully they're not trapped in treasure chests…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing," she waved him off. "Oh hey, what were you talking about? There's still currents."

She pointed down because there really was. Nowhere near the scale or beauty of the ones before, sure, but they were definitely there. Quite a bit further down too and nowhere near as harsh from the looks of it. Not only that but they… seemed to be going directly to the island? Huh. Weird.

Ace pouted, "Not as cool ones."

Quinn felt a drop of sweat slide down her face. "Okayyy…" She drawls simply.

Before-

 _"Oh my god, you're still scratching?!_ "

"Gyeh." Ace flinches. "Whoops."

Her eye twitched something fierce and she grabbed him by the strap of his own bag, yanking him back. "Stand still." She ordered thinly. Already sticking her hand into his pack without warning and ignoring Ace's indignant shouts as she rooted through his stuff. She pulled out a light grey sweater made out of a thin, airy material. "Take off your shirt and put this on. It'll help you ignore it."

He sputtered, doing as told, arguing the whole way. "A turtleneck?! It's hot out, Quinn!"

"I've been wearing a jacket this whole time. And it's not that hot out today." She gestured to the loose, tiny bit too big jacket she'd been wearing since Saigen. That said, she took it off and tied it around her waist. When worn with her black arm sleeves and her leg sleeves- they weren't leggings, she refused to call them leggings, they stopped at mid thigh and only reached her ankles- it was way too overbearing. "You can do it for a day or two." She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, but you're wearing shorts…" He muttered under his breath.

" _Your_ wearing shorts!"

"But your wearing the super short shorts that girls' are always wearing!" He retorted, pointed at them, Quinn crossed her legs. "And a tank top!" He gestured to the white top.

"So?"

Damn, she needed new clothes. Majority of her outfits were the exact same thing or were incredibly similar.

"Just put on the damn shirt!"

Ace grumbled, sliding it on over his head, pulling his necklace out so it could rest over the top of it and rolling one sleeve up for a second to reattach his elbow guard. "You're so weird Quinn." He huffed. "It's just skin."

"Dead skin, Ace. I don't even… I shouldn't have to explain this. It's gross. That's that." Quinn deadpanned. "Hand me your old shirt." He tossed her his yellow shirt and Quinn narrowly caught it before it went flying overboard, stuffing it back in his bag-

_Oh~?_

What's this?

Quinn pulled out a simple pill bottle from Ace's bag, eyeing the label. Huh. It looked like he'd purchased it just before the beginning of the year, and subsequently just before he'd set out to sea if she had her dates right, there was even a mark on it with a smiley face that said "first purchase" and "Narcolepsy" written underneath. Well, that explained why she hadn't dealt with any fainting spells up until this point. She pursed her lips. Though it was a wonder why he'd gone through the trouble to get it, the anime-Ace... or the future-Ace didn't seem like he'd been using any sort of medicine. Instead letting his Narcolepsy run as rampant as he pleased-

"Hey, Quinn, did you see something?"

She flinched, turning back to Ace. He was distractedly observing the water again, more fiercely than he had been before. Quinn made a noise to deny the question. "No." She dropped the bottle back into his bag as if her hand was on fire, snapping it shut without another glance. Tucking a wild strand of hair behind her ear, "Why? Did you see something?"

He squinted.

"I think so."

There wasn't anything immediate to pick out.

Actually there didn't seem to be _anything_ worthy of note other than the fact that one of the many colorful schools of fish had been upsetted. Quinn ran her thumb thoughtfully over her bottom lip and gave the sea a sudden critical eye, "What was it?"

"A big shadow!"

"A… big shadow?"

Quinn deadpanned.

"Ace, that could be literally anything."

"Ah, I meant that it was moving super fast!" He tacked on as an explanation, as if it helped in any way. It didn't. "See! There it is again."

She must've not turned fast enough because there was nothing to see.

 _Actually_ nothing this time, all the schools of fish had disappeared from the looks of it. Wait- not true, she could still see them running away, already having gotten quite the distance away from them. "Huh. They're fast."

"Did it scare them off?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, I don't see anything- _aa_." Quinn let out a small gasp, "...Yeah, that'll probably chase fish away."

Ace made to move, an incredulous noise caught in the back of his throat.

Brown eyes blinked up at them.

_"Goddamn."_

Looking up at them was a tan face framed by potent green markings, bright and insidious; like eyeshadow and liner on their eyes, covering their ears and part of their cheeks, down their neck, and sprinkled throughout their features. Most notably, both Quinn and Ace had to blink in recognition, the green was oddly reminiscent of scales.

Bright, flaming red hair spiked up on their head, soft and striking, a mix of shades that came together to make it look like a flame on their head, held back by a simple white, folded bandana. They were grinning, wide and bright, showing off a mix of human and shark teeth. Possibly the most shocking of all features, despite the oddness and brightness of the others, were the three scar-like gills torn into their cheeks. They were uneven but prominent, and since their face was still underwater, they opened and closed with every breath they took. They looked like… whiskers?

A few bubbles drifted to the surface out of their mouth.

Ace tilted his head. "A… kitty?"

All at once the grin was wiped off their face.

"Gyeahhh! NO!" They shot up out of the water so fast that Quinn reflexively threw her hands up in defense. Ace simply leant back as they slammed their hands into the ships rails and used it as a platform to lift themselves up so they could, apparently, yell at them face-to-face. "I'm not a _cat_!"

Water sprayed them in the face.

"Pfhhh- ta- hey?!" Ace coughed, wiping a hand over his face and throwing himself at their catfish friend, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "What was that for?!"

Quinn sputtered similarly. Shaking wildly to try and get the water out of her eyes, it clung to her hair thickly, making her feel rumpled and gross. She raised a hand to slide her now wet-hair out of her face.

 _"I said,"_ and Ace and the catfish boy barred their teeth at each other, "I'm not a cat! They're the pussy of the animal kingdom!"

"That's what they're known for being, yes." Quinn remarked thinly, scowling at the redhead.

He shot her an offended look. Ignoring Ace's hold completely and gesturing towards themselves, "Tch! Can't you tell-?" He hissed. "I'm a tiger shark!"

Ace insensitively decided to point out, "You have no fins."

He seemed to steam and sizzle. Quinn wondered dimly if his hair really was going to burst into flames.

"Fine. _Half_ tiger shark." He clarified grumpily, eye twitching. "And I do have fins!" Water was thrown into their faces again.

"Spffh- stop that!"

"Please," Quinn wiped herself off, "I'm really not a big fan of water anymore." Oh, ugh, she could feel it sliding down her shirt and beginning to squelch in her shoes. Damn it, ew. She didn't want to have to clean that crap out. "Ahg… that feels gross…" Ace and the catfish sweatdropped, the former exasperated by her, admittedly misplaced, concern and the latter incredulous to her total nonchalance towards them.

Catfish shook his head, "No way! You guys are rude, and here I was thinking about helf _shh_ \- CHEOW!"

There was a shocking spray of blood.

"Chehahaha!" Ace cackled as they nursed their face. "You just bit through your own tongue!"

"Ish naw fushnny, you bashtah!" He howled noisily, clutching onto his face and spitting out a wad of blood. "Thisss hursh-" He made a face, eyes squinted as he tried to concentrate on the slur of his words, trying to get rid of it. "This hurts so bad. Ack!"

His eyes flung open suddenly, mouth falling open, as if he suddenly had a horrific realization. Quinn flinched back at the expression, that couldn't be good.

"Shit!" He threw in another few choice swears that Quinn couldn't pick out all that well because he suddenly ducked his head underneath the water and let out a muffled scream that had Ace and Quinn glancing at one another out of the corner of their eyes, bemused. "Oh, no, no, no!" He pulled back out with a howl and Quinn followed his wide gaze to the blood that was already beginning to fade into pink lines in the water.

Quinn had a bad feeling.

Ace leaned over, still snickering. "What's got you so bent out of shape?"

"Crap, crap, crap! I can't beleesh-" he threw his hands up to his head, "-belieb-beLIEVE that I just spit blood into the water! Sonsh ova bishe- damn it! I can't even speak right, right now!"

"Uh…" Quinn anxiously shuffled in place, "Hate to interrupt your freak attack, man, but- uh-" He whipped towards her and she wiped off the drops that fell on her face. "What's got you so scared?"

"Scared?!" He practically shrieked, voice sharp and oddly high-pitched and cracking, Quinn noticed, feeling a powerful urge to cover her ears. "Y-You callin' me a coward?!" From the way he jolted back and flushed when she simply gave him a dead look and pursed her lips at him, unimpressed by his exclamation, he silenced that train of thought and shuddered a bit, "It's just the blood!" He explained.

Unhelpfully. Only raising more questions than answers.

Quinn tapped her fingers together, taking a deep breath, before pointing her hands at him, as if to say, _'That tells me nothing.'_

Ace interrupted as he just flushed further at the action, thankfully getting directly to the point, "Blood?"

"Y-Yes!" He jumped on the chance to avoid Quinn- she felt reasonably offended at the sigh of relief that came from him- and snapped his fingers, pointing at Ace. "Exactly that! It's the whole problem-!" He chirped loudly, nervously. "Let me explain: Whenever blood hits the water he goes into a frenzy!"

"Frenzy?" Ace and Quinn asked in unison. Quinn had to pause though, brow crinkling, as she snapped her teeth around her already gnarled bottom lip and quietly asked, _"He?"_

"Yeah, who's _'he_ '?"

"A-Aah-" the boy paled drastically at the question, "You two should hurry and get out of here, a-a-a boat like this won't survive the waters once he comes!"

"Again." Quinn bit out impatiently at the urgency in the boys tone. "Who's _he_?"

"It's-"

He froze suddenly, mouth falling open, a shadow falling over his face. At it both Ace and Quinn went completely rigid. Because, from behind them, there came a frightening noise. It sounded as if mountains were crumbling and as if the ocean itself were screaming. But that wasn't all that it had in store -no- the next thing they knew a violent rain was drowning their clothes and pelting their heads. And worst of all was the shadow that loomed.

Slowly, mechanically, they turned around.

" _That_ …" the fishboy squeaked, "would be him."

"Oh."

"BRAWH _HHO **AHHHH** H_!"

…

…

The One Piece world, the Blue Seas, the Grandline, the Pirate King and all the rest brought to you by Eiichiro Oda, the author and imaginatively brilliant mind behind a series that flooded sales and fandoms. Quinn Varela, at the age of twenty, was not one for many series' but the manga had taken her prisoner for a short while in her teenage years and only recently had she had the mind to get back into it. The series was quick to take its place at the back of her head. Not really important, but an enjoyable hobby in itself. She would like to believe that she was rather well-read on the series as she always had a good memory and Oda was incredible at making his art pop and stick in people's minds. Sure, she probably couldn't recite anything line for line but she knew the general plot, points, characters and drives behind each story- as well as the logic behind the world and the fact that no matter how ridiculous and impossible abilities were they could always be explained within reason.

No matter how… stretched and skewed that reasoning was.

Still, basic world knowledge and opinions aside, Oda's art for all its detail, beauty, imagination, and skill really couldn't do the sheer unadulterated surrealness proper justice.

It just… It just really, really couldn't.

'Cause staring down the snout of a Sea King- no, a Sea Beast- was nothing but beautiful, realistic, awe-inspiring and terrifying on so, so many levels that it had her voice very much dying on the spot.

The face of the beast was a goat. Teeth that were sharpened like fangs despite their square shape. Lips that cracked and ridged with the amphibian scales and matted furs that mixed across its body, a coarse hair-like material that seemed closer to quills than anything. Its neck protruded out in odd shapes and curves; ears flicking away the water that poured from inside the gnarled mess that had taken over its ear canals; the long, thick, lithe body of a serpent.

_Strength._

This beast was raw, powerful muscle.

That was the simplest explanation she could give but- oh god- the stench was… the stench was a…

_A- A stench._

It was something else entirely.

There wasn't so much a smell to it as it was simply unbearable, raw, and so strong that her face stung and her eyes burned red with tears that simmered like boiling acid along her skin.

Dazedly, she swayed on her feet, "Oh… h-hullo."

Because really. What did you expect her to say? There was nothing that could be said to a face like that. And she was only hoping to make a good first impression.

"BROA _A_ -!"

She failed. Obviously.

"-AAAAAOOOO _OAAAAA_ AAH-"

Quinn felt like having an existential crisis. Eyes fixed shut, face scrunched, and hair being pushed back from the sheer ferocity and volume being screamed at her.

"-Ooooah _hahhhh_ h!"

Its rippling voice settled. And whatever terror and grandeur washed away in favor of being pissed. Quinn felt her eye twitch and wrinkled her nose, mouth already forming around the impulsive words. "Take a breath mint, geez."

She was not imagining the vein that looked ready to burst out of the creatures temple.

...At least she skipped straight over panic and went all the way over to sass.

**_Snap!_ **

"SH _I_ -"

"You idiot, why would you pufurously- purposely antagonize him?!"

Quinn squeaked at the sight of teeth biting down on air, right where her head used to be.

That was a close one. If fish face hadn't reached up and grabbed the back of her jacket, subsequently slamming her into bottom of the boat, then Quinn would currently be missing her upper half.

"Oh, geez…" she mumbled, instantly regretting the moment of impulsivity. Especially in the face of danger. "This is nice. This is just perfect."

"Tch. He doesn't look that threatening." And there was the reminder that Ace was probably ten times worse than her. Quinn let out a breath through her nose. "I got this!"

"Not you too!"

"Wanna fight you ugly fish face?!"

"Are you both children?!" Fish-face seemed absolutely flabbergasted, especially seeing as he was the one pointing it out, as young as he clearly was. "Urgh. Whatever. I'm outta here." He made to leave but Quinn's hand came down, clasping him around his forearm, fist twisted it into unkind knots in the back of his tie-dye shirt. "What the-"

"This is your fault. You even said it!" She hisses. "Thanks for the save back there my fishy friend but you're not gonna just up and leave us here to deal with it." He stuttered and Quinn felt an unpleasant grin spread over her face. "Congrats! You get to see my insane Captain in action~!"

"Come at me, you Lord of the Coast wannabe!"

He squawked.

And then the monster of the sea surged down upon them.

"B _AOOO-!"_

-0-

He lifts himself out of the water, mouth falling open automatically and letting a waterfall of sand fall out. It ends with a pained cough and a small cloud of dust that flies back to get stuck in his eyes.

It's ignorable, but it still burns.

Adding onto the fact that it feels like something ripped through his throat, the salt water making him blink something fierce it was all and all not a great feeling. Near drowning was not fun. But, Ace guessed, that was the price you paid when you let the ocean throw you around however it wanted. " _Tch-_ "

His sweater and shorts were frayed at the edges, to put it lightly, like he'd come way too close to being completely shredded.

"Damn."

Ace shivered- oh. And he was sopping wet.

Cool.

He shook himself off like a wet dog, wiping his mouth off on his arm, to crawl out of the shallows still lapping at his feet. There was a moment taken to dig out a wad of sand from inside his shirt but Ace didn't want to get caught up on the uncomfortable details. "That was fun…!" He grunted, patting a hand over his chest.

Ow. That was gonna bruise.

Ace let out a relieved sigh when he found the strap of his bag, "Ack- thought I lost it there."

That would've been bad, he definitely didn't want to have to get all new things this soon. So, still stuck on his hands and knees, ripping one leg out from where it was buried in the sand, he reached back to put his hat on so he could block the sun out and-

 _"Damn_ it, Quinn."

The realization came with a mix of frustration and a sudden hatred for the sun. "You still have my hat!" Ace gritted his teeth together. "Whatever. Not like I could wear it anyways with the hole it h _a-_ "

He grasped the length of the harpoon and ripped it out of the gloved hands that held it, eyes flashing dangerously.

There came a loud yelp as the person failed to let go and ended up headfirst in sand. Ace had the decency to wince as they struggled to yank their head out of the ground, legs and arms waving around wildly, though he made no move to help. Instead focusing a glare on the small group of pre-teens that had been behind the wielder, "Can I help you?" He more or less growled. Which sent them all scrambling back with a holler and a yell.

"Run for it!"

"This guys crazy!"

"Tava was right! He _is_ a sea monster!"

Okay, that last one had Ace tilting his head and sending them a confused look. It doesn't help any, the boys still run off, throwing down their weapons and leaving Ace and their friend behind. And Ace, so far, is not impressed.

But he still doesn't help.

"Hrrrghsh!"

Ace stands up and brushes the sand off his knees and front and wrings out his shirt, all the while he continues to stare at the struggling teen with probably more amusement than he should've. His head was… really deep in there. Way deeper than he initially thought.

Like really.

Ace crossed his arms and tapped a finger against his bicep impatiently.

Oh, shit, did he go still awhile ago or did that just happen?

He waited a few more seconds to confirm.

Yeah, no, he wasn't moving. "C'mon, man, don't die." Ace made a face, yanking him up by the ankle. "Woo- you don't look so good."

There was a dry cough.

He hung upside down limply, not even attempting to move.

"You… bast… tard…! I'll kill… ya for that…"

"Chehehe. You go ahead and just try and do that." Ace dropped him on his head. Crouching down to get a better look at him, "Hmm…"

He didn't look like anything special. Curly dark hair, tan skin, gloves, tank top and swim trunks. The only thing that really stood out was the fact that he had a scar across his mouth, like something had slashed him across the face.

"The hell are you lookin' at?" The guy snarled, scrambling to pick himself up. "You're just a sea freak, don't look at me like that."

Ace decided not to deign that with a reply.

Already turning on heel, stuffing his hands in his pockets, and walking off.

"Wha- O _-Oi-_!" He grabs his rusty harpoon and struggles after him, hand wiping sand off his face and out of his eyes. "Ptoo. Ack!"

There wasn't much to see of the island so far. It seemed to mostly be sand actually, with a few spots of grass and maybe even a rare tree here and there. Other than that it was all sandy hills and rolling waves of summer heat, not that he was complaining. But the long sleeves and collar were beginning to get a bit stuffy. Thankfully the sunburns weren't acting up, aside from a dull ache or itch, so he cursed Quinn's good idea and dealt with it by ducking under the shadier parts of the beach. He could spot a village up ahead.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

"To search." Is Ace's simple answer. It has the kid behind him flushing with anger and rushing to catch up with him. "What's it to you?"

"You're a stranger." He spits. "You're from the sea. And you managed to disarm me so easily- you've gotta be some sort of sea freak or something!"

"Or you're just insanely weak. Chehahaha!"

He sputters, "Jerk. What's a sea-freak like you searching for anyway? Can't be anything good. It's not seashells is it? Don't need another one of you collector-freaks." His eyes flash and Ace has to stop because he suddenly jumps in front of him, harpoon pointed at his throat. Ace gives him a bored look. "You so much as try anything and I'll- DONT WALK AWAY!"

This guy was annoying.

"You've got _some_ nerve."

Ace felt his eye twitch, brows furrowed tightly downward.

"Shouldn't you be in the sea anyways? And where are your gills? You should go hang out with the fishes, the lands got no space for yer kind." Huh. There was quite a few birds flying up from the other side of the island, he wondered what that was about. Maybe Quinn scared them off or something? "Hey, stop! I'm talkin' to you!"

Oh, really? Ace didn't care.

"Hey. HEY! Don't enter the village!"

He walks on. The village was quaint, each house spaced quite a bit ways apart, even though there were few, and seemed to be placed on solid concrete foundations, raised by brick and sandstone. Short fences made of red brick and stone marking off the streets and areas- the village tiny enough he could see where they petered off further down the road and into nothing.

There didn't seem to be anybody up and about.

"Hey-! Sea-Freak!"

But Ace wasn't stupid. It didn't take a genius to notice the shutters sliding shut or the doors closing before he'd even taken a step close to the village. Apparently the shouts from the guys friends were more than enough to have people clearing like cockroaches.

"Oi-!"

He re-shouldered his bag, 'hmph'ing.

Damn, this island was full of scaredy cats and pansies. Everybody had either run and hid or was bothering him something fierce. Speaking of which, the guy was stomping loudly up behind him, a feat in itself since the ground was still mostly sand, and muttering curses under his breath like no tomorrow. It was getting less and less tolerable.

"Seriously, what is your deal?" Ace can't help but ask, tone dripping with hostility.

It's not really a question that he expects to get answered, and he doesn't get one. But that's somehow even more frustrating.

"Don't just keep walking, you _ass_ -!"

Okay, that's enough of that.

Ace twists around before he can finish, "It's polite-" The kid flinches. The kid freakin' flinches and Ace barely keeps himself from either laughing or souring further. "It's polite," he repeats, more calmly this time, "To introduce yourself first before you talk to someone."

"I- what?"

When Ace bows it's to hide his scowl and the roll of his eyes, alongside an urge to just punch him- unfortunately the fight to just be polite and get this over with was much easier. If not as enticing. "Hello, my name is Portgas D. Ace, it's not nice to meet you." There's a strangled noise bubbling out of the guys throat, like he didn't expect it, and so when Ace lifts his head back up he has an intensely amused smirk on his face. Something that has the guy sputtering even worse and his smirk only growing. "And you are?" Ace drawls.

It's way too fun seeing him fail to speak.

"I- uh, I- wha-" But eventually he does end up getting there. "T-T-T-T-Tava?!"

"Alright, Tava." At least he can put a name to a face now. Even if he didn't really care to get to know him. In any way. "Please shut up and go away. I've got a hat to get, a crewmate to find, and a catfish to catch and you're not a part of that bundle."

Tava's mouth falls open, jaw opening and closing, failing to work properly. Eyes blown as wide as dinner plates and grip on his harpoon tightening- Ace tilts his head at the reaction. "Catfish?! Y-You d-don't mean-!"

Ace stopped at that. An eager grin splitting over his face.

"Yeah! You know who I'm talking about? Take me to him!"

"W-Wha-"

Tava looked distinctly taken aback. Then, he looked angry.

"Like hell I'd take you to that freak! I refuse!"

Ace gave him a flat look. This guy was… not very aware of himself, was he?

Tava flinched when Ace took a step towards him.

"It wasn't really a question."

…

…

Quinn took in a slow, dark, shuddery breath.

"What." She began, but had to stop herself short, arms held up in order to try and balance herself out. It wasn't working.

She coughed weakly, eyes wide, staring at nothing in particular- just focused ahead of her. Water spilled from her mouth and down her chin, mixing with spit and shaky gasps for air. She was bruised, battered, and dripping from head to toe. Whatever feeling that was slowly coming back to her limbs after her cold, struggling first descent of devil fruit-induced drowning was beginning to feel like electric-shock therapy. If the way she shook and shivered was anything to go by. Any motion she made hurt like a bitch and Quinn had more than half a mind to grab herself by the neck and bury her head back into the water until her body fell limp and fully numb to just end it all.

Everything was a mess. Yet that wasn't even the worst of it.

_"The hell."_

"Welcome to my…" If there was a drum roll it would be playing right then and there. _"Dun-geon!_ "

The cavern filled with an uncomfortable silence.

"...My dungeon!" He repeated, sweat- or was that water?- running down the side of his face. The grin, showing off rows of teeth, wavered but stayed strong. "Dun~geon!"

She closed her eyes, mind whirring.

Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Deep breaths.

"Ye _a_ h!" It came out a little too high pitched and forced. "I heard you the first time!"

And he pouted.

"Well why aren't you impressed?!" He stabbed a finger at her, brows furrowed and acting like _she_ had done something wrong. "This place is friggin' cool!"

Okay, she had to admit through her numbing daze, that some part of that statement was true. They were in a cavern, surrounded by high walls that dripped dark water and echoed at even the slightest sound. The ground slanting down, covered in rocks and pebbles, ferocious waves slamming into the shore and throwing around… _crap_. Quinn's mind supplied unhelpfully.

There was wood that looked like it had come from wreckage after wreckage, ripped sails, broken pieces, and piles of snapped wood thrown about, as if it'd all been left to rot year after year.

She wheezed. And decided to ignore the seawater that spilled all over her front.

"What're you…" he stomped his foot, "I know!"

"Know what."

"I didn't properly introduce myself! That's why you can't bask in my glory- stay right there! I'll be right back!"

"No, that's not necessary-"

He ignored her, "Stay!"

Quinn sagged further. Taking the moment to try and recollect herself and put her mind back on track, more than a little rattled, but now that warmth was beginning to flood back into her limbs she was doing a little better. Her skin still felt frozen and her hands shook beneath an unbearable weight that slowly slid away as water fell off, or dried off, or simply… went away but it was easier now.

Quinn squeezed her fists shut.

She took in another deep, pained breath in order to finally calm down.

"I am-"

Goddamnit.

"THE AMAZING KA- GYEH!?"

_"Stop."_

Quinn snapped venomously, slapping a hand over the boys mouth. "As much as I'm thankful for the save from drowning…" Not an experience she'd like to have again anytime soon. "Please, just- be quiet." She rubbed her temples, hand falling away, head throbbing. "Damn… and Ace is gone too…"

Actually- no, that was her neck. Not her head. Damn it.

"Hey, can I at least get a thank you?"

Oh right he was still there.

Quinn tilted her head at him, "Didn't I already?"

Hmm, she chewed on her lip thoughtfully. Finally taking the sight of him in.

Now that they were out of the water and on equal footing she was able to actually get a good look at him. And it was certainly her first time seeing a fishman up close. And, wow, even half-human like he said, it was… weird to say the least.

Though, if she was being honest, it wasn't especially notable and he could probably pass as human if he really wanted to.

Overall, he was just a bit strange looking, and gave off the feeling that there was something… well, not quite strange, but simply put: different. And Quinn certainly had no qualms picking out those differences, blinking lazily.

Nails long and sharp.

A bit webbed if you looked at them in the correct light.

Gills apparent.

Skin textured differently. Almost reptilian.

But that wasn't really a good descriptor. Oh well.

His bright red hair and brown eyes were striking and sharp but not out of the ordinary for this worlds standards. It was just that- that the tye-dye muscle shirt with the word 'ALIENS' printed across the front and the dark brown pants leading down to tightly wound sandals was uh- well, it didn't make him stand out any less.

Oh and his teeth. A mix of human and shark. Those were actually rather eye catching.

"I mean, thanks." She shrugged.

It sounded poor to even her own ears.

He stared at her blankly.

"...Not accepted." He grumbled, crossing his arms. "That's such a lame way to express gratitude! I saved your life and then you ruined my introduction, damn it." He huffed, "I mean, who does that? It was gonna be really cool this time too!"

"Ugh- please shut up." Quinn whimpered, holding her neck. It throbbed painfully under her fingers. And massaging it felt much like massaging a porcupine: like it was a good idea but ultimately lead to pain if a single stroke was out of place; a double edged sword if you will. Quinn just groaned and picked herself back up.

"Don't you know any manners?"

"Shut up, Ace. You're not much better even if you try to be."

There was a long pause.

"Um- my name is Katsura, not… Ace."

Oh. Right.

"Same difference."

"We… we look nothing alike."

" _Same difference."_

"Oh-kay." He raised his hands up defensively. "But- uhm, its uh-"

Was he blushing?

Holy shit. He was being _shy_.

"Spit it out."

"Katsura! Please call me by my name!"

"Yeah, Kat, whatever."

He sputtered.

"No! I told you this already- cats are the-!"

"Yeah, I don't care Kat-shuri or whatever you said." She rubbed at her eyes. Purposely mucking up his name. "Where the hell am I?"

He deflated, nudging an empty can with his toe uselessly.

"Kat."

He just seemed to sag even more.

Quinn sighed, "Katsura."

And he perked up abruptly. "Yes, indeed, that is my name! Now if you would like to know where you are then all you had to do was ask-!"

There was a strangled choking noise. He bit his tongue.

"Damn it! OW!"

She hated him.

She freaking hated him.

"Okay, stop." Quinn raised up a hand, pinching the bridge of her nose and letting out a long suffering sigh. "Please. Just. Simple question: Where are we? Right now." It's a struggle to keep her head straight but Quinn finds that focusing on one particular string of thoughts comes easier the more she does it.

Katsura huffs noisily, "Well, we're in…" He hesitates and Quinn spots a faint blush peeking through his scaly cheeks, "It's kinda… my home, ya know?"

She has to stop and really just- just stare at Katsura. A bit in total incomprehension and a bit in vague understanding as she puts two-and-two together and really takes a look around the room. Before, in her dizzy vision, she hadn't seen, or at least hadn't made the connection, that along the innermost walls of the cavern there was a-

Well, makeshift and gaudy made it sound like it was decrepit but in all honest it was rather neat and well-made.

Quinn made a noise in the back of her throat, "Ah…" realizing exactly what she was looking at after another moment of struggle. Though, for an entirely different reason this time because it simply didn't look like how it should.

It was a bed. And a living area. A writing desk. Drawers. And, for all intents and purposes, it was a long stretch of a… _home_ , for lack of a better term. It looked more as if it had once been a rather sloppy piece of work but had been built on constantly over the years, thrown together with colorful parts, sewn together sails, and objects that were very obviously not supposed to be apart of something of its nature but had, oddly, worked well alongside all its other counterparts. And color Quinn impressed but there was even a canal-made of strips of board and bamboo running along the length of the ground and up like pipes on the wall, leading to a proper looking bathing area.

Then, she blinks, and feels a bit stupid. Because Katsura's living area was by no means the most impressive or the most obvious thing in the room. The fact that she only notices now is what has her feeling a little bit silly but that's quickly thrown away in favor of being, quite simply, confused.

"I- What's with all the shells?" She can't help but ask before her mind is done reeling from the sight.

"Oh. Uh- Those!"

"Yeah, those. They're… kinda hard to miss."

Katsura coughs into his fist, a bit embarrassed and shuffles his feet. "Well, shoot, it's uh-"

 _It's kinda personal_ , he's about to say, and it's on the tip of his tongue but he ends up stopping himself just short. Mostly because he's not really sure how to put it without inviting more questions that he doesn't want to go into too much detail about, so, he shifts and puffs out his cheeks. Trying to figure out the right words to say before pouting, fist hitting the palm of his hand, deciding to just get it over with.

"It's my collection!" He chirps with a wave of his arm, "I've been looking for this one super rare shell. These are just all the pretty ones that I've picked up over the years!"

"Nice collection."

It was certainly awe-inspiring, especially the amount of dedication he must've put into it to get the sheer amount of shells that piled the room. They were separated by color and by kind from the looks of it, a rainbow of beautiful shades that sparkled like gold and treasure on the floor. She gives up on counting before she even begins.

"What kind of shell have you been looking for, exactly?" Quinn asks, carefully picking her way over a few smaller piles in order to not crush anything. They look way too delicate to just be left lying in stacks about the place. "It must be something special."

"Oh most definitely!" Katsura covered his face, squealing giddily. "I just can't wait to find it! I lost it a few years ago but I know I'm hot on it's trail! I could find it any day now- you know?!"

Quinn nodded wearily, swept off her feet a bit.

"It's this really pretty conch shell-" Katsura continued, skipping along next to her. Quinn tried not to flinch at his closeness, roaming around for an exit of any kind. "-but it's got this purple spiral runnin' all over it, with some yellow specks! You haven't seen anything like it have you?"

"No, sorry…" She bit her lip, ignoring the burning sting it caused. "Uh- and this home of yours…"

"Hm?"

"Where, exactly, _is_ it?" She groused.

"Beneath the island of course!"

Of course, of course. She should've just assumed.

Quinn hung her head, "I take it that's why you introduced it as your dungeon, huh?"

"More or less!" Katsura chirped. He then pouted, kicking his feet. "But you were supposed to freak out… that's how they always do in the books. I wanted to scare youuu..."

"I don't think that's an image you should cultivate." She can't help but deadpan, eyeing him up. Chubby face, nose looking like it'd been busted a few times, and while incredibly muscular, still a gangly and awkward teen. "...I don't think you have the face for it."

"Oh."

She squinted at him, "Mn. You- You look kinda lame honestly."

"...Oh

"Especially since your teeth are mixed."

" _Oy._ I get it."

"Whiskers."

"Hey!"

"...And the spiky red hair."

"I- what's wrong with my hair?" He brought a hand up to his head, petting his hair softly and looking vaguely hurt. "No- Wait, I… what?"

Quinn eyed him.

Then, she's placing her head in her hands and offers a weak sort of apology. "Sorry, sorry, my heads not on right." And muttering something awful under her breath, trying to reorganize and get a handle on the things running through her head. "Can't think straight… but… since we're beneath the island and in a cave, sorry, your _home_ … am I correct in assuming that there's not a normal exit?"

It's not a clarification that she particularly needs but as he nods and she accepts the answer, savors it a bit, she's almost afraid to ask.

Swallowing.

"And... how do you get to the surface then?"

Katsura gives her a blinding grin, all mismatched teeth and dimples.

"Why, by using the currents, of course!"


	6. Belle II: Meet Katsura! Awkward Confrontations and Beneath The Floorboards Of Buildings Abandoned!

It was sudden and shocking.

Even though she'd expected it, knew that it was coming, it still didn't prepare her for the sheer… _experience_ that hitting the water would be. 'Cause it was hard to describe, really. And left her a bit at a loss for words.

When the Beast had lunged at them it had immediately shattered the boat into pieces and the only reason Quinn was still alive was because she'd managed to fall back before it'd hit her head on. That still didn't help her from being thrown into the water, back first, and certainly didn't stop the wind from getting completely knocked out of her. Yeah, going for a breath after a hit like that, only to be met by a lungful of water, was more than a little disorienting. To make matters worse, the Devil Fruit had hit like a freight train- and she was stuck under the tracks.

Quinn nearly snorted. And that was putting it _lightly._

See, a Devil Fruit user doesn't _just_ lose their ability to swim and suffer from a weakened state, no, it was far, far worse than that. It was as if the entire ocean was holding you down and grabbing you, like it was dragging you down to the sea floor as fast as it possibly could, trying to bury you deep, deep down into its abyss. It weighed on your limbs, unimaginably heavy and strong, and only got worse the further you got from the surface. And _that_ had been terror inducing.

Quinn had choked, vision blurring, and could only watch as the sunlight got dimmer and dimmer, the surface further and further out of reach with each passing second. And even though she tried, and managed to force her arms to move in a few weak strokes, it did nothing against the pull of the sea. Then her back had hit the floor, sending up sand and dirt to cloud her vision and ruin her view of the sunlight and the surface.

And that had sent a whole new wave of panic through her- just the feeling of being absolutely powerless to forces completely out of her control. It wasn't a new feeling, but it'd been so in her face and sudden and nauseating; dialed to eleven, that she'd nearly passed out right then and there.

Really, staring up at the bubbles drifting past her fingers, the horror of losing oxygen, her lungs constricting and throat tightening, and vision darkening with each moment safety got further out of reach was-

Abruptly Quinn shook her head, biting down on her lip to pull herself out of those thoughts.

It wouldn't do to get caught up in that experience any longer. It was horrible, that was that, and she'd rather not remember it any longer than she had to- "What're you doing?"

She asks. Thoughts stalling.

She has to wince at the sound of her voice. Scratchy. And ripping through her throat like knives.

Katsura nearly tripped over himself in surprise.

"Ah-!" He managed to catch himself, nails digging into the rock wall to hold himself up. "You scared me!" Katsura yelps, one hand on his heart, eyes flung wide.

He was at the corner of the shore, crouched over the water.

" _I_ scared _you?_!"

"W-Wha-" His mouth falls open, as if catching what he'd said, "I-I-I mean, I wasn't scared at all! Just… surprised! Yeah, surprised, is all." Katsura coughs into a fist awkwardly before clapping and pointing at the water. Quinn followed his finger. "I was just checking out the sea currents before we head up!"

"The… sea currents?" She tries to keep the confusion out of her tone but fails. Instead brows furrowing curiously at him. "You can feel them?"

"Yeah," he chirps, "The Beast, when he gets into a real bad mood, ends up thrashing around in the water so much that he makes it go crazy. He's strong enough that they go absolutely wild and- yeesh- if that happened while your friend was in the water…!"

Katsura made a face and slid a thumb over his throat, miming a choked noise in a pale imitation of someone losing their head.

"Wow. Thanks. I really needed to hear that right now." Quinn can't help but deadpan.

It's only mildly entertaining watching him suddenly turn pale and choke for real this time. Looking absolutely horrified. Before he slaps a hand over his mouth, "Oh my- I'M SO SORRY! J-Just ignore what I said!" He garbles. "That's only if the currents were bad a-and it doesn't look like they were too horrible, honest! They were actually surprisingly calm this time so your friend should be just fine!"

It's comical to watch him wave his hands around and bounce from foot to foot and Quinn almost cracks a smile before she's crossing her arms and raising a brow at him. "And you can read them just like that?" It's said with an alarmed sort of disbelief and Katsura looks taken aback. Even a bit offended maybe?

"Of course I can!" He snaps. And Quinn blinks. That was a quick change of tone. "I've been reading the ocean and the weather for as long as I can remember, there's no one that can read and predict the ocean better than I can! And you can take that to your grave, you know?!" He's practically shouting at this point, and burning with a sort of passion that has her more than a little startled.

She can't help but slowly tilt her head at him, face scrunched. "Oh-kay?"

There's a moment of silence.

Then he squeaks.

"THAT CAME OUT WRONG- GSHHK!" And bites his tongue.

Quinn's more than a little weirded out.

"Uh- You okay there?"

"Grhshhh… Ish fine…!" He buries his face into his palm and shoots her a shaky thumbs up. "Ish all good- keh- gyeh- _ow_." From the blood dripping down his face it's clearly _not fine_ and _not all good_ but Quinn isn't really sure what to do. So she just shifts uncomfortably, more than a little befuddled.

Just- who kept _doing_ that?

Katsura sucks in a whimpered breath, a little teary eyed, to continue on like nothing happened, "But it's a bit strange is all."

"What is?"

The fact that he kept biting himself? Because Quinn definitely thought that was more than a little bit strange and it was even more sad if this was the first time he'd actually realized that normal people don't regularly try to bite through their own damn tongue.

"Well, normally, after the Beast attacks a ship, the waters way worse than this." He coughs up a bit of water, letting it fall through his fingers, "This is pretty normal for this area."

Oh, so not the tongue thing then.

Quinn was… admittedly a bit disappointed.

She shrugs at him, "So what? What's the big deal if he isn't throwing a hissy fit in the water for once?" It'd be wonderful if she never saw that things ugly mug again. "Isn't it better for us getting to the surface if he isn't causing us trouble?"

"Well, yes." Katsura admits before paling dramatically, biting his nails. "It's just creepy is all! Like- like- Have you ever heard a _real_ scary ghost story? The waters givin' me that kind of feeling you know?"

"I think you mean goosebumps."

"Right, that!"

"How do you not know what goosebumps are-?"

"I just forgot the word! People do that sometimes!" He garbled out, cheeks flushed bright, which he tried desperately to hide. He failed by the way. "It's- It's not that weird! I- Just let me check out the water a bit more to make doubly sure it's safe, okay?!" Quinn opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by him- "Okay! I just need to make sure that everything's really, _really_ alright. Gotta feel it now-"

She pursed her lips, more than a little bemused.

"-so-so no interrupting!"

She raised her hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay, I got it." And decided to just settle back and watch the redhead at work. She wasn't completely buying the fact that he could "apparently" read the ocean currents and gauge the general going-ons of the sea but Quinn had a feeling that the more she didn't believe what she was told the more she'd just be proven wrong in the end. There were certainly crazier- and freakier- things in the Blues' World.

For all she knew _all_ fishman could read currents.

She didn't really remember a lot on them.

(She'd kinda… skimmed the Fishman Island Arc. She was only semi-regretful.)

Katsura sucked in a deep breath.

Feeling the water flow between his fingers, over the webbing on his hands, and the amphibian skin that made up the lower parts of his arms in thick, tough layers, letting his skin breath in the familiar comfort of the water. Truthfully, feeling the currents was a bit of a redundant statement. It was more as if he was… sensing them, so to speak. Understanding them. Listening to them. Each coil or twist or lap that ran over his forearms was just an echo of the currents, telling him what he needed to figure out their rhythm.

A beat.

He let out a slow, deliberate breath through his gills.

Normally, after the Beast was upsetted, the currents would be so loud and constant he could only stand to be in the water for a few minutes at most. It was just overloading to his senses. But this time there wasn't any of that- and, like he said, it gave him goosebumps. Quite literally. He could feel his hair standing on end as they popped up all over his skin.

The sea was shockingly calm. Rolling, twisting and churning how it normally did. Which was admittedly not that calm, but calm enough to warrant him trying to sniff out any problems.

Another beat.

He let his gills tense and shudder before pulling his hands out and rubbing a handful of water over them, letting them settle back into his skin. "Krrm… It seems like it's all okay. As far as I can tell we're all good to go!" He huffed. "So I guess we can-"

There was a loud, creaking noise. Sounding like ropes snapping and old wood groaning; the wooden remains on the shoreline tumbling tumultuously over each other. Quinn winced as a crash rung out, something slamming into the rest of the rubbage, and peaked over the broken mass curiously.

Katsura let out a loud yelp and a curse, wiping his hands off on his shirt. "GAH- Goddamnit, that makes me jump every time!" He grumbled, face beet red.

Quinn couldn't help but quirk a brow. "Well, that's foreboding."

Caught in the water and slamming into the rest of the wreckage was the bits and pieces of what could only by Ace and hers ship. Completely and utterly destroyed beyond repair.

Katsura followed her gaze and couldn't help but cringe, coughing into his fist awkwardly.

"A-Ah-" His mouth fell open and he turned a bit red in the face, sheepish, "I-I guess I forgot to mention that most of the surface currents pick up all the wreckage and end up bringing it over here. That's why I've got all these shipwrecks on my doorstep."

"Figured it was something like that…"

There was a crash, shipwrecked parts slamming into each other and collapsing against the new weight.

And then it all continued to crash.

...And snap.

...And break.

Every which way.

Katsura cringed at each new noise, a strangled noise coming from his throat. Quinn couldn't help but sigh, rubbing her temples. "Alright, as fun as… this is, let's get this over with."

It was said with a sort of pained trepidation, knowing that she was not going to like what they did next.

And, god, was she right.

In order to leave the cave they had to, just as Katsura had said, use the currents. If that in itself wasn't foreboding to a newly-minted Devil Fruit user than she didn't know what was. Because being an anchor meant she couldn't take more than a few inches of sea before she became as limp as a noodle.

So, Katsura grunted, "Okay, I got this!" And waded into the water. Quinn held in his arms bridal style.

And she was. Not. Happy.

Now she didn't know exactly where this was going but why'd it have to come to this- of all things? She grimaced pathetically, gripping the red head as she struggled to get away from the weakness of the water. Shit. It was already lapping at her ankles and she could feel her breath come out in short, harsh beats with every step Katsura took. "I hope this works…" She heard him mutter and whipped around.

"W-What do you mean, _I hope_?!"

"A-Ah- n-nothing! I've just never done this with another person!"

"What?!"

"Hey, it's your fault you can't swim! You should really learn!"

"Me learning is not the problem-!"

She struggled even more.

Katsura flashed her a quick grin, a bit strained, but cheeky enough to have her cursing him out, "Hold your breath!"

The water washed over them.

And Katsura nearly let out a whoop of relief.

Whoosh~ He just loved dipping into the water and feeling it rush over his gills. Each breath pumping in water to his fishman lungs, absolutely refreshing to his-

His-

His-

" _Uh, oh."_

He squeaked.

" _You're not supposed to be here."_

He said. To the gnarled face of the Sea Beast.

...

...

"Woooo~"

Ace let out a low hum of appreciation, taking in the sights from his spot. Currently situated on what was easily the highest point in the village. "This is a pretty nice place you got here!" He complimented.

It didn't beat the view from his treehouses crow's nest but it was definitely up there.

There came a choked sputter.

"I k-kno-o-ow-" Tava gasped, "Lemme' go you- you bastarr-!" Oh, will you look at that? He couldn't finish his sentence. How sad. Ace grinned, squeezing tighter.

"Is that what you want?" He asked. Changing his grip on him from where he had him wrung out by his neck, caught in a headlock, and couldn't help but smirk as Tava clapped a hand against his arm. Trying to tap out from the looks of it. "You _sure_ about that?"

The answer was mostly just him choking but Ace took it as confirmation and shrugged.

"Alright. You asked for it!"

What?

He was a bit vindictive.

"Oh, thank g _o- A_ -AAAH- N-NO- NO!"

Ace snorted back a laugh, catching the guy by the back of his shirt before he could drop more than a few feet. Just enough to scare him really, and give him that satisfying feeling of dropping in the pit of his stomach. "Sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you!" He snickered.

"Oh- man- Augh… Y-You bastard-"

His grip slipped a bit.

" _AH NO, I'M SORRY- SORRY- P-Please,_ don't!"

Ace hummed. "I don't know." He grinned, lifting him up so he could see his face. He was a bit green. "You've been kind of an asshole up until this point."

" _I… think I'm gonna throw up…!"_

That's not something he wanted to hear. "Don't look at me when you do it." He sweat drops. There was a chance that, maybe, he'd gone a bit too far. Then the guy called him an asshole again and that thought immediately went away.

"How about you show me where that Catfish guy is at now?"

He groans a bit more and his face flashes through a few shades of color that Ace doesn't know how to describe. _Not good_ , he settled on as it turned a sort of ashen yellow- which, coupled with his skin tone, made him look like he was dying. "C-Can I just…" He sounds queasy. "Ask one question?"

"You're not really in a position to be." But Ace shrugs, "Sure, whatever. Can't promise I'll answer."

He blushes a bit, head down. "...Was I really _that_ weak?"

That was an easy one. Ace snorted. "Oh, absolutely."

Oh, hell, was he going to cry? Ace didn't know whether to laugh or shake his head, this guy was just ridiculous. Tava hung his head, eyes downcast, and swallowed pathetically, before saying in a small voice, "F-Fine… I'll take you over to the d-damn fish freaks lair." A grin splits over his face.

"That's all I wanted to hear!"

Tava's expression gets screwed up, looking all bent out of shape. And growls. "Just get me down from here already! This is way too high up, damn it!"

He's waiting for his feet to be placed on the roof so he can climb down or for Ace to begin slowly making his way down himself so that they can take a nice and steady trip back down to the ground.

Unfortunately, that's not what happens.

"-AAA _AA_ AA-"

"Chehahaha-!"

" _-OH MY_ GOD-!"

Ace jumps off and lets gravity take its course.

...

...

" _What the hell- you jerk! Go away!"_

Katsura snapped at the fishy-face of the Sea Beast.

" _Were you waiting for us to leave this whole time?! That's… actually kinda smart. What gave you the idea to do that?"_

He has to somersault out of the way of jaws slamming down inches from his face.

" _Damn it, Beast, you put me in such a tight spot here!"_

Quite literally. His back was shoved up to the shore wall and his hands were tied with Quinn in his arms. Katsura huffed, shooting off the wall just in time to dodge another strike. The Beasts jaws clamping down on nothing but water and making the currents ripple beneath its weight. Katsura cursed.

And cursed again when he looked down and caught sight of the bubbles beginning to force their way out of Quinn's mouth. From the scrunch of her face and her eyes turning dazed it was clearly taking all she could to keep her hold on his shirt. Which he could uncomfortably feel loosening.

The goal of jumping in the water- or rather, the entire purpose, was to grab a current that he could use to twist himself up onto the land about fifty feet above them. And the problem with the beast showing his ugly mug was that he was able to disturb the currents with just a twist of his body and a snap of his jaws. In fact, just as Katsura was about to use the ocean and get out the waves changed abruptly and ruined his hold on the water around him.

Effectively cutting off his exit.

" _Just great-!"_

The dodging was getting ridiculous. Katsura grimaced as the seconds ticked by.

At this rate, he'd never get out.

The Beast thrashed around, roaring, and the waves changed abruptly around them. It snapped out, " _Ah,_ fu- and the only reason he'd managed to get out of the way with Quinn in his arms was backflipping awkwardly and using the currents to siphon himself a few feet away. The sound of the wall crumbling behind him was somewhat muffled by the water, wood and rocks tumbling into the ocean and slowly sinking past him.

" _HEY! Don't do that, you're gonna mess up my shell collection!"_ He couldn't help but snarl for once careful not to bite his tongue. More blood in the water would only serve to make getting out of here harder. And all this rumbling would cause his shell-piles to fall and break. " _That took years to put together and organize_!"

Okay.

He was fed up.

" _Sorry, Quinn, you're gonna have to hang out by yourself for a minute!"_

He imagined that if she wasn't only semi-conscious that her eyes would've snapped open and she would've let out an underwater scream. As it was, all she could manage was the distinct feeling that she should be pissed off- especially as she found herself without anything to hold onto, suspended and sinking a short second later. She knew she shouldn't have trusted him to hold onto her.

" _C'mon Beast! Let's fight!"_

" _Brr_ ** _rghhh_** _hhh-"_ Said Beast was growling like a wild dog, lips pulled back in something vaguely looking like a sneer. "- ** _r_** _roooooa_ ** _aag_** _h_!"

He twitched a bit nervously.

Truth be told, the last time he'd gone head-to-head with the Beast it hadn't ended well for either of them. But, " _Yeah, yeah,"_ he stuck his tongue out _, "just come at me already, you jerk!"_

Katsura couldn't help but grin a bit. Giddy, almost.

If… If he could beat the Beast once and for all then that'd prove that he'd gotten stronger since then.

The thought had his heart skipping a beat, though he couldn't tell if that was the result of a good feeling or not. Finding himself surging across the length of the monstrous body, hands at the ready, slipping around the violent jaws with ease now that he could move freely. " _Alright, I've got this…!"_ He muttered, barely able to contain himself. Rearing back his hand, in order to feel the water stretch across his fingers in long, sharp tendrils. It was a familiar feeling.

One that was followed by the currents around him shifting. In some small way it was akin to the movement of the Beast, but required much more finesse and concentration. Not wild movements that sent the waves crashing. Rather, focus and thought.

Katsura took in a deep breath. The build up of water around his fingers felt like it was going to explode, barely contained concentrations of sea. It was always hard fighting unassisted like this- he was unused to the strain- and he could feel his focus beginning to fade with each passing second.

His muscles groaned beneath the recognizable weight of using the ocean to do his bidding and couldn't help but smirk, " _You're going down, Beast!"_ Slashing across the back of the Beasts hide with all the strength he could manage.

There were long lines of spume blocking his vision but he'd definitely felt the strike connect and he couldn't help but let an excited feeling of triumph race through him. Blinking wildly as the bubbles popped and disappeared, tense as he waited for the Beast to twitch or make so much as a single move.

" _That's right! Take that, you be- GAH!"_

Was… Was that his _tail…_?

" _SNNNK-_ Keh _sh- sh- shit-_ fu _h-"_ Katsura grasped his face and held back a howl, blood spraying into the water. "Shda-damn it!" That was…

Ugh. He was sent absolutely reeling from that hit. It'd whipped out too fast for him to even attempt to dodge.

Spitting and sputtering as blood spurted from his busted nose, out into the water, Katsura let out a weak cough at the sudden, shocking impact.

Ah.

That was not good.

" _Aw, shit."_

Katsura ran his tongue across his teeth anxiously, both the sharp and the not, careful to not let it get cut despite his sudden paleness. Attention suddenly taken in by the fact that the hit- " _did absolutely nothing!_ "

There wasn't so much as a scratch on him. The Beast hadn't even flinched. Damn. Unfortunately, from the looks of it, he wasn't the only one who'd gotten stronger.

He wiped the blood away with the back of his arm. Spitting out a glob into the water.

The Beast seemed to breath in the smell with a sort of zealous satisfaction. And if Katsura didn't know any better than he'd say that he was smiling.

That thought was not a fun one.

" _Alright, Beast, it's going to be like that then."_ He spits. More than a little chagrined and meets the snarl of the beast with bared teeth and a growl. The Beast's eyes are bloodshot now, and he looks even more ferocious than he did before. Katsura holds back a shiver at the sight. The blood in the water was going to send him into an even worse frenzy if he wasn't careful.

A few stray bubbles popped in front of his face.

He looked down.

And flushed guiltily. " _...right! I almost forgot! Sorry!"_ He squeaked.

It probably wouldn't do to end up accidentally drowning the person he was supposed to be helping. From the blue tinge on Quinn's face and the fact that bubbles were escaping her shut mouth at a horrifying rate the clock was ticking by faster than he'd anticipated.

" _I-I-I'm coming, don't worry!"_

Unfortunately the Beast chose that time to be an ass.

"ROA-"

" _Ahgh!"_ He sputtered. " _Striking while I'm distracted!"_

" _-OO_ OA **G** ** _H_**

He clenched his teeth, eyeing the lanky body beneath him, glancing between the Beast and where Quinn rested between coral and rocks close to the ocean floor. The Beast wasn't going to just let him pick her back up and with his failure to pierce the Beasts hide- he looked down at his nails, long and sharp, and usually all he needed to break through rock and skin and whatever he wanted- well, he just wasn't going to cut it. The thought had him grinded his teeth against each other, shaking his head in frustration.

Fine. _Fine._

He was just too weak.

It came with a flurry of feelings, mixed rage and self-hatred and disappointment.

" _Next time, Beast,"_ he snarled, " _I'll be strong enough to take you down myself!"_ With that exclamation he was glancing back at the rock wall still behind him and purposely snapping his teeth around his tongue. " _For now- have a taste of what's to come!_ "

And slammed his teeth down as hard as he could.

" _GYAH! THAT ALWAYS HURTS!"_

But it was as if a switch had been flipped.

" _Br_ r _ooooo_ ** _oooa_** _ggg_ g _gh!"_

The Beast's eyes turned red in a haze of ferocity, roar escaping, and lunged.

Headfirst into the wall behind him.

Still teary eyed from the bite to his tongue Katsura cackled uproariously at the sight, " _GET WRECKED ASSHOLE!"_ He sank into laughter, smirking and cheering at the sight of both the integrity of the Beasts skull and the rock wall failing. That'd surely knock him out of the running for a little while. He swooped down and gathered up Quinn in his arms, latching onto what currents he could with a spin of his body, a sheepish apology on his lips.

At least he'd managed to do something, Katsura thought- That is until Quinn's eyes widened and she struggled to point over his shoulder. He whipped around, mouth falling open, " _What the_ hell?!"

Despite the blood smashed and smeared across his skull the Beast was sliding off the wall and bearing down on them once again.

"Shi-!"

The only reason they were able to successfully shoot pass his gaping maw and razor-like teeth was because Katsura had already gathered the currents around the pair and was already in the midst of sending them flying out of the ocean and straight up into the sky, landing in a crash of limbs and pain on the cliffs edge. The touchdown sending the two sprawling apart from each other in a wet mess of rolling bodies with only Katsura managing to pull himself into a crouch.

" _Damn_ it," he snarled, slamming his fist into the ground, "I couldn't do anything to him!"

Quinn came up gasping for air and vomiting up water and bile.

Barely able to lift herself onto her hands and knees, heaving until she was convulsing and cramping and wanting nothing more than to collapse in on herself. "Nice… going, Kat." She growled. "Way to… forget about me…" Christ. Every breath she took in came out harsh and ragged, her voice garbled to the point of near incomprehension.

"It's Katsura." He muttered, annoyed. Sniffing back some drops of blood. "I already told you that-"

"Don't care." Quinn huffed, voice coming out in gasping breaths. "Gonna try and kill me like that… I'll call you whatever the hell I want…"

"I can kick you off the cliff, you know?"

"You won't." It may just be the water suffocating her brain but Quinn was pretty sure she could trust the fish-face. "You already saved me. Wouldn't be worth all the work you already put in."

"Grrr…"

"Why do you hate, hrrk… Kat anyways? It's cute."

He ducked his head, face contorting painfully. "It's weak is what it is." He wasn't kidding when he likened it to being the weak-link of the animal kingdom. "I'm a man… I'm not some soft hearted weakling."

Quinn snorted. Which was a bad idea since it caused some excess water to get stuck up her nose. "Uhg! O-Oh please. That's so stupid." She rolled her eyes. "Sounds to me like you're just being dramatic."

"Shut up." He growls, punching her in the shoulder. Though there's no real heat to it. "You don't know what it means to me. Being called Kitty all the time… It's worse than being called a fish-freak or a monster. Whatever the islanders are coming up with these days."

Given that they're both stuck on the ground, trying to catch their breath, neither of them can see each others reactions. Quinn in too much pain to really acknowledge him, diaphragm constricting. Katsura's teeth are slowly clenching and unclenching, marks of pain and anger crossing over his face.

Quinn sucked in a few breaths, dry heaving and coughing out a bit more water, and finally asked the question that she knew she'd have to ask in order for them to get anywhere else, "Why's it have such a negative connotation, huh?"

He sat back up, hand wiping across his cheek and neck. Looking decidedly defeated. "My gills… they look like whiskers don't they?"

"Yeah. Makes you sorta look like Naruto actually."

"You mean like the food?"

"Uh- no. Ignore me."

He shook his head, eyes downcast. "When I was younger and new to this island all I wanted to do was fit in." He grimaced at the memory. Yeah right. Like that could've ever happened here. "But…"

"Well, let's just say it didn't end well."

He closed his eyes.

_"-It's all your fault- you weakling!-"_

_"-You can't protect anything, kitty-cat!-"_

_"-Shut up! No one wants to hear your self-pitying moans!-"_

_"-Aww- the kit's crying! Haha-"_

_"-oh that? I tossed it. A dumb cat like you shouldn't be allowed to have anything that pretty-"_

His eyes shot open abruptly. "I can't change what my gills look like- what _I_ look like like. I was born this way!" He spat. "I won't be some weak-willed, demure little _kitty_. The appearance does not make the man!"

He froze, unclenching his hand, letting it fall limply into his lap. "Guess I'm wrong though… couldn't so much as scratch the Beast. All I did was take hits and talk shit. I'd need help if I ever even wanted to break his hide."

Quinn grunted. "What's wrong with that? There's nothing wrong with asking for help, doesn't mean you're weak." She groaned. "I asked for help after all- what would that make me?"

Katsura pursed his lips. "You can't even swim. Being compared to you is not exactly… filling me with confidence here." As soon as the words got past his lips he was burning a furious red and he looked wide eyed, slapping his hands over his mouth.

"Oh. Ouch. I'm gonna pretend I didn't just hear you say that."

" _Please_!" He almost whimpered.

"Anyways…" Quinn hissed as she stood up, feeling her body crack and groan in all the wrong places. "It's just a word. Take it back."

"Huh?"

"It happens sometimes with words with negative connotations."

Ugh. She felt her stomach roll.

"I don't-"

"Make it your own. Or whatever," she rubbed at her face, "I'm gonna go throw up. Again." She stumbled over to a bush and did just that.

It had Katsura blinking at her back, mouth falling open.

"I- I… I never thought of it that way." He smiled to himself a bit. It was a nice thought. "You know, you're pretty ni- GROSS!" He pinched his nose and grimaced, finally taking notice of what she was doing.

Quinn wiped a hand over her face. She did not feel good. "Thanks. I needed to hear that right now."

He slapped his hands back over his mouth, "S-S-Sorry!"

She paused, giving him a dry look. "I'm joking."

"I-I knew that."

"...sure."

Oofph. She's gonna throw up again.

Katsura yelps.

-0-

"Are you better now? Please tell me you're better."

It feels like she's gone ten rounds with a blender but she nods slowly. Katsura let's out a sigh of relief, hand on his heart. Quinn interrupts it.

"This is your fault."

"What? No. It's the Beasts!" He stabs a finger at the cliffs edge, looking affronted by the accusation. "I'm the one that got you out of there in the first place."

Quinn grumbles, shooting him an aggravated look from the corner of her eye. She'll begrudgingly give him that. "...Still dropped me."

"That- That was necessary to the situation at hand!" He defended. "It's not like I was gonna just leave you there-!"

She huffed out a reluctant laugh. "Kehehehe!" Patting him on the shoulder, "I know. I know. I'm just giving you a hard time, don't overreact. Geez."

He flushes. "That's not-" His face flattens, expression dry. "You were nice before, now you're just mean." It's said in annoyance but Quinn could swear she saw the corner of his mouth quirk up a bit. She takes that as a win. Though a win for what? She's not sure.

"If nothing else you have a potential career in waterboarding."

"Uhhh-"

He chokes on his own spit at that. Incredulous. She's just thankful that he didn't end up biting his tongue again.

Quinn cracks her neck. It feels like its been weeks since she last saw Ace but in reality it'd probably been- and she was already pushing it with this guess- half an hour. Dimly she wonders if this whole situation is different than what would have happened if she wasn't present before shaking her head, deciding not to think about it. "So where would he be?"

"Who?"

"Ace."

"Oh. Freckles. Right." Katsura taps a finger to his chin thoughtfully. "Well- There's a village on the other side of the island. The current that swept him up should've taken him somewhere over there."

She fails to hide her groan. Erk- walking. It didn't sound fun after feeling like she'd been run over by a train multiple times. "We'd better get going then-" Quinn stops, blinking against the glare of the sun. "Hey, is that a house over there?"

Katsura's head pops up.

"Huh?"

"Over there." He follows her finger and takes in the sight of the... Quinn wanted to call it a cottage. Katsura takes one look at it and almost immediately flinches. It's gone with a blink and she's left wondering if it was just a trick of the light.

"Oh- uh." He pales, tongue feeling heavy in his mouth. "That's just some old abandoned home. Nobody's lived there in four years."

"Ace could be there." Quinn suggests and starts making her way towards it.

Katsura gapes at her.

"H-Hey, wait!"

"What?"

"We can just skip over it and head straight over to t-the- KSHHH!" He howls as his teeth clamp down around his tongue. He curses at the familiar iron taste of blood feeling his mouth, teeth scraping along old and new scars alike. He whimpers. What horrible timing!

Quinn raises an unimpressed brow before rolling her eyes and continuing walking towards the cottage.

Katsura quickly stumbling after her, jaw working to try and swallow back the pain, and he stutters as he speaks up, hands waving frantically. "I promise the village isn't a far walk! Hey, hey, you're looking tired, maybe I can carry you back?" She actually pauses and has to consider that one. Then she glances down, noting that he barely reached her chin and decides against it.

"No. You're... too short."

"-Wha? I carried you just fine before!"

"That was out of necessity. With our height difference it'd just be comical."

He splutters.

"Why're you trying to keep me from heading over there?"

Really. He's floundering by every definition of the word and Quinn doesn't have to know what's going through his head to figure out that he's trying to come up with some sort of explanation. An explanation that would most definitely be a lie if he could manage it. Just to try and get her to stop and head towards the village- which she was somewhat inclined to do but ultimately decided against it. But Quinn's a curious sort and with each second that he fails to come up with something she inches closer and closer in the direction of the cottage.

He clamps his mouth shut. And if Quinn took a second to glance back at him again she'd notice him twiddling his thumbs. "...Because..."

"'Because' is not an answer." She huffs. "We're already here anyways." Admittedly disappointed that that was the best he could come up with.

The cottage is… cute.

It's old and dusty and the boards are a bit worn but it's adorably small and earthy. It's surrounded by a half ruined fence and is halfway overgrown with weeds and what looks to be a tree twisting it's way up it's side. Quinn likens it to the humble abodes you'd always hear about in fairy tales, part of her is waiting for it to begin sparkling or for a pixie to come out of it. It's a sort of picturesque, sweet looking place.

"Looks like someone built their dream house…" She muttered, running a hand along the fence. Flakes of paint falling off in peels and dust and Quinn has to rub her fingers together to get it off. "It's beautiful." She was by no means an architect but one didn't need to be in order to be enraptured by the architecture and detail that went into the rickety old house. Weirdly enough, she had a bit of a soft spot for small houses off the beaten path and that were clearly made with love and family in mind. Even if this one had fallen into a state of disrepair.

"I really don't think going in there is a good idea."

"You said it was abandoned."

"Well, I guess I did. But that still doesn't make it cool for you to break into there! Besides it's all shut up anyways-"

Quinn raised a brow at him, planting a hand into the front door and watched it swing wide open. Katsura trailed off at the sight. "It's open." He opens his mouth to say 'yeah, I can see that' and insist that they head towards the village but Quinn's already pushed inside to take a look around. Letting out a short whistle as she did so.

Katsura huffed, fists clenching and stomping his feet indignantly.

Of course she didn't see it and he was left standing outside the house looking- and feeling- like an idiot. "Grr..." Katsura groaned, put out.

He bit his lip, not caring about the sharp edge of his teeth, looking up at the old cottage. Noting the familiar creak of the door as it swung on its hinges, rickety and high pitched with wear and tear. He fisted his hands in the fabric of his pants, clutching them tightly and not really knowing what to do as Quinn passed by the broken window, coughing at the dust that covered the place from head to toe, leaving him standing outside reluctantly.

He hadn't taken a step into the old home in years. Hadn't even gone near it in that time.

"Quinn…" He called after her weakly.

If she heard him she didn't acknowledge it, too busy waving dust away. Katsura couldn't help the growl and the whine slowly bubbling up through his throat. Not knowing whether to be angry or to hang his head.

The house was the same as he left it. It'd remained untouched. Just older now. More overgrown. No matter how many weeds and plants began to fester in its splinters and cracks the home was still dark and lonely and would remain that way until its pieces had been put back together.

Katsura swallowed at the sight. "You know… I haven't taken a step in here since I lost that shell I was telling you about." He let out a deep breath, unclenching his fists. A wave of nervousness washing over him.

Quinn's head popped out through the shattered window.

"Gyeh!"

"Oh yeah?" She rubbed her face, brushing off dust. "The special one?"

He shook off the frazzled look. He hadn't been expecting her to pop out just like that. "Y-Yeah. It's been about four years since I last saw it." He admitted, eyes flicking back to the door of the cottage. It continued to creak on its hinges, as if baiting him.

"What happened to it?"

"Huh? O-Oh," he started, distracted, "Uh- It got... It got tossed into the ocean."

"That's too bad."

She popped back into the house. And Katsura blinked, stumbling over to the window to peer in, "Oy, Quinn?" He couldn't see her. It was too dark and a cloud of dust came billowing out into his face. "Urk- Quinn, seriously, you shouldn't-"

There's a crash.

_"...ow."_

"Quinn!" He snaps. "You better not have broken anything in there!"

"No, no. I just tripped." Quinn grumbled. "Thanks for the worry much."

Katsura listened to the sarcastic mutter and huffed, rushing over to the door to slam it fully open and make sure that she was really telling the truth, a sudden wave of panic hitting him. She better not have messed anything up or he- he-

He stops short on the doorstep again. Practically skidding to a halt.

The cottage is frustratingly familiar.

Katsura feels his face contort painfully, taking a reluctant step inside.

Quinn had left footprints in the dust that layered the floor, a clear trail leading to a second room of the house, winding across the boards and around the old table and writing desk. Past the shell decorated walls and the cabinet with only two cups and two plates and past the broken chair tipped over on the ground, splintered and old, laying in the immediate pathway to the doorway of the next room. "Quinn?" He managed to bite out through clenched teeth, slowly shuffling over towards the other room.

"Over here."

Katsura felt his teeth clench down around his tongue reflexively. Taking in a calming breath- or, at least, it was supposed to be calming. All it did was make his heart stutter in his chest and his eyes blur at the edges as he tried to make his way through the room in the direction Quinn's voice had come. He nearly trips as he comes to a shuffling halt- the shape of a dusty picture frame coming into view.

He stared at the small photo for a long moment.

Feeling like his heart was bursting before he shakily managed to knock it over so he couldn't see it, quickly hopping over the chair lying in the way and turning the corner. "What're you…"

"One of the floorboards was sticking up," Quinn huffed, rubbing her ankle, "Freakin' caught my toe and tripped me up." Quinn muttered, frowning at said floorboard. It was curled up in the corner, as if from water damage, with a rusty nail sticking up from it. A wicked thing that nearly tore through the sole of her shoe.

He didn't remember that being there.

The board was oddly knocked out of place too.

He eyed it for a second longer before shaking his head. "Hey, Quinn!" He hissed angrily, trying to push aside the shake in his voice. "I told you not to come in here!"

She raised her hands up in defense. "Ace could've been here. Besides it's not like I'm trying to mess with anything." She then pursed her lips, leaning in to stare at him. "You're being weird about this place anyways. There's nothing in here."

Well, not anything you wouldn't expect from something that had clearly once been a home.

"If you really wanted to stop me then you could've." She pointed out. "It's just some house."

"It's not just some-!" He stopped abruptly, getting red faced. Quinn raised a brow at his abrupt cut off. "Oh, just get out already!"

She snorted. "Okay, okay. I'm going."

He scowled at her until she left, tripping on the board again on her way out.

"Ow!"

Katsura slumped once she was out of view.

This was his fault really, he pouted. He should've remembered that the cottage was in view of the cliff edge when he shot them up. He'd just been so distracted and cocky when it came to the Beast that he'd completely thrown all other thoughts to the side in order to see how well he faired up against the goat. And wasn't that a mistake. He prodded his face. It throbbed something awful and he was pretty sure he'd fractured- if not broken- something.

"Damn it." He'd been so arrogant. Thinking that the Beast wouldn't have gotten stronger. "Come on, Katsura," he slapped himself in the face, "Knock some sense into you! No time to be weak, we just gotta try it again!"

There was just one problem though. He couldn't beat the goats control over the ocean- it just made the currents ferocious and stormy and whatever power he had could be stolen at the drop of a hat. Completely sweeping his feet out from under him.

He just needed something to focus.

Then he'd be able to beat the Beast. "-Just need something to focus..." He muttered. "That way I'll be strong enough to break his hide and win. Then I can search wherever I want for the Shell." While saying it to himself Katsura ended up rubbing a hand over his brow and the action caused him to look down.

Specifically at the upturned floorboard. And beneath the upturned floorboard at a parcel that didn't look like it'd been touched in forever.

-0-

There's a very distinct trail that Ace is leaving behind in the sand- er, well, the Tava-guy is leaving it behind. Ace just has him by the ankle, dragging him none-too-gently since he didn't seem to be much more than a deadweight at this point. Only managing to shakily point a finger and cough out a direction before Ace was off again.

Apparently the fall had been too much for his poor heart.

He screeched to a halt once he felt he had gone far enough that he'd maybe gotten turned around a bit, looking around for any sign of the Catfish guy. "Oy. Where next?" No answer. He shook the guy a bit. "Oy?"

There came a wheeze. "I told you, to the cliffside. It's-" He fell into coughs, spitting and sputtering, and wiping sand off his tongue.

"You should've kept your mouth closed."

He managed to snarl out between his coughing fit, pained tears in his eyes. "You could've just walked!"

Ace rolled his eyes. This guy was awfully dramatic.

Something then caught his eye. "Oh- is that it?"

As if saying that had some sort of magical effect- (lucky, one might say) -Ace watched as Quinn stepped out from inside some old cottage building and leaned up against the broken fence without even noticing him. Looks like the guy was showing him the right way after all and here Ace was beginning to think that he was just making up a direction. "Quinn! Oy!"

He watched her head pop up in surprise.

He's equally surprised to watch her smile and go to wave-

And then immediately fall over backwards as the fence she's sitting on collapses and sends her sprawling on her back.

Ace doesn't even try to cover his laugh in her expense. "Chehahaha-!" Guffawing and holding his stomach. "You okay there Quinn?!"

"Shut up!" She groans. Ace can barely hear it she's so quiet, muttering curses under her breath. Her voice sounds horribly hoarse. He jumps over to help her up, offering a hand. "Isn't it polite to _not_ laugh at other people? Especially not people you know."

"Probably, but I don't have to be polite all the time." He shrugged. "Besides friends are always fair game."

They were ignoring him. Tava sighed in relief, never before had he been so happy to _not_ have everybody's attention than now. It gave him time to wipe the sand out of his mouth and heave out a lungful more that he had, surprise surprise, swallowed. That freckled face jerk had a ironclad grip and Tava had a newfound respect for being able to walk on his own two feet and, you know, _not_ be dragged around by the ankle.

Shakily he stood up and dusted himself off. Eyeing the black haired woman that was apparently the freckled-monsters friend and flinching at the sight of the old worn down cottage.

He just barely managed to catch the tail end of what they were saying in time to hear, "-yeah, this guy gave me directions." And see said freckled-monster jerk a thumb over his shoulder lazily.

Tava cheeped, freezing in his efforts to dust himself off.

The woman's scrutinizing gaze focusing in on him wasn't what set him off though. It was the shock of red hair and gills walking out of the cottage holding a poorly wrapped package that did.

Katsura took one look at the boy in front of him and snarled.


	7. Belle III: Pieces Of Katsura's Past! A Tale Of A Lost Shell and Monsters From The Sea!

Tiny wet feet pitter pattered across the floorboards, leaving dirty footprints and a trail of water dribbling behind. The door to the small cottage swung open and slammed shut behind him, making him flinch and mutter a soft sort of apology to the wood, giving it a tiny pat to make sure it was all okay. Then there came a light hum from behind him and he nearly jumped out of his shorts in fear.

"You went cliff-diving again, didn't you?"

He slapped his hands to his cheeks in horror, eyes flung wide open. "Oh, no…!" He squeaked, voice as quiet as he could make it. Which, newsflash, was not that quiet. "A-Ano, urm, I-I-" He tutted, eyes flickering wildly from place to place in the hopes of finding a quick escape. "Ahk-!"

"Oh no you don't!" The voice behind him exclaimed, laughing, catching him by the belt of his shorts just as he went running. "Nyehe! Don't think you can escape from me, my little shark!" He was hiked up into the air. Arms and legs waving around as he fought for a way out.

"Lemme' go! Lemme' go!" He cried. "I didn't do nuthin'!"

"Then why is the floor all wet?" He was spun around by his britches to face a woman with just the same striking red hair as his own, a grin stretched so widely across her face that her dimples protruded and made her look like a cartoon sun. She stuck her tongue out at him, "Bleh! I think someone's a liar!"

He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest, whining, "Mo~m!"

"Nyehehe," she giggled, a devious look crossing over her face, "Hm- I think someone deserves a punishment for running off by himself and mucking up the floors…" He gasped, mouth falling open in horror. "In the form of the… tickle monster!"

"I'm too old for that!"

"Oh~ is that so? Let's test that out then shall we?"

He screamed as she raced her fingers over his sides, thrashing around.

"Noooo-no-ny _ah_ -ahaha!"

Unfortunately, he was a little boy and he didn't have much of a defense against a grown woman. Even if she was horribly short and petite.

"Ah-Mo- mma- no- I'm so-sorry I wo-o-on't do it aga-again! Mo-nahahaha!" She hummed, raising a hand to her ear as if wondering if she had possibly heard something. "MO- Nahaha- I l-l-love you! S-Stop- Nyahahaha! I love you!"

She chuckled joyously, untangling her hands from his sides, and watched as his chest heaved as he tried to regain his breath. Face flushed pink and gills fluttering open and closed alongside each breath. She poked him in the belly and watched him spasm, slapping his hands over the spot and wheezing out a pathetic, "S-Stahpp!"

She giggled.

"You know you're not allowed over there without supervision," but she then frowned, not angry. Just disappointed. "What if you hit your head and got hurt?"

He looked away, grumbling, "I wasn't over there though!"

She raised an unimpressed eyebrow. And a hand. "I think the Tickle Monster is on the rise again-!"

"AH-!" He yelped, curling in on himself. "No- no- no- I was there! I'm sorry!"

"That's what I thought. Now, do you want to explain yourself, mister?"

He scowled. Face screwed up into something fierce, feet kicking. "I just wanted to have some fun. Quagga was with me!"

"Quagga can't walk up to our house and tell me if you got yourself hurt. And if you wanted to go have fun then why didn't you just go play with the village kids? Nobody from the village has even seen you yet! Why, the other mothers have been rather worried about you." She quirked an eyebrow. "I never knew that my son was so shy!"

"Mm' not shy!" He pouted. "I'm just busy!"

"You? A nine year old? What do you have to be busy about?"

"...hng… _Collecting_ …"

"Collecting? Collecting what?"

He flushed, "...Seashells…"

"Seashells!" Her eyes widened in surprise and she cast her eyes over the house, taking in the sight of well placed shells of all sorts of colors and shapes. Shells that she'd collected over years and which held a special place in her heart. Her eyes softened, "Why would you be looking for that?"

"'Cause..." He ducked his head. "It's how you an' Da met, right?"

"Yes… Yes it is," she smiled, "A very special shell brought us together. And I'm sure that any friends you make would love to find shells with you as well. Maybe you'll even find a very special shell with them one day that'll bring you together too!"

" _Ew_! Moooom- that's gross!"

"Nyehehe!" She rolled her eyes. "It doesn't have to be romantically, you dork. You know that right?"

Katsura grumbled, rubbing his face. "I kno'. I kno'." He then found himself perking up. "Can you tell me about 'em again?! I wanna hear it."

"About how me and your dad met?"

"Ew. No! You talk about that all the time." He watched as his mother swooned at the thought, feeling his brow twitch. She'd always go lovey dovey at the mention of his father and would jabber on whenever she thought she could and he was forced to listen- usually when she was cooking or working on something and he had to sit and wait or help her. There'd be new details every time and she would go on and on about how romantic of a time it was. It was sickeningly sappy. "The Shells…!" He insisted, wanting to steer the story away from _that_ as fast as possible.

She sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll tell you." She rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you want me to tell you again but… In the world, there are many unanswered questions, and one of these questions is about these rare, special shells found all over if you look hard enough." Katsura found himself gasping as she reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a small conch shell of dazzling beauty. It was a pale creamy color, spiraled with wide purple lines that nearly covered all of its base, and speckled with gold that glinted in the light. "What are they? What do they do? Why do they exist? We- I don't know much, and yet I studied them for many years alongside your father, and we managed to figure out a few things."

She turned it over in her hand.

"These... Shells are the essence of living things- they _are_ living things. And you can see that come to fruition should they ever touch the water. They grow and change from their environment and contain it inside them." Placing it against her ear Katsura watched as a small nostalgic smile quirked over her face, as if hearing a song that she hadn't heard in a long time. When he went to reach for it, so he could listen for himself, she tugged it out of his reach with a laugh. "This shell belongs to me and your father. It has a very special connection to the two of us."

"Can I-?"

"Mn. Maybe when you're older."

He slumped. She always said that.

Her eyes snapped to his sulky face and he flinched at the reprimand on her tongue, "Katsura, this shell is no toy or dial. This is an artifact and a living creature. It must be treated with respect and be taken care of."

"I know, Mom. You tell me this all the time."

"And I'll keep telling you until you remember it."

"I do though!" He whined in frustration. "I do. If you'd trust me to hold onto it than I could show you-"

"Oh? What are my rules?"

"Never show it to anybody. Never tell anybody about it. Always keep it safe."

"And most importantly?"

"Never let it touch the water!"

"Good. I guess you do remember then." She pursed her lips as he lit up at the admittance. "But you still don't have my permission." He spluttered, face turning red. Just as he began to voice his complaints she wagged a quick finger in front of his face. "Ah, ah, ah! I'll tell you what though."

"What?"

"I've never mentioned what we like to call these shells, have I?"

He sent her a suspicious look. "...No. They… They have a name?"

"Well of course they do! Everything has a name of some kind." She paused and then leaned in dramatically, voice dripping with raw humor and mockery. "Even that _dreadful_ _beast_ that lurks out by the cliffside."

Katsura couldn't help but giggle. "He wouldn't like hearing you say that."

"Nyehe. Anyways, what do you think these shells are called?"

"Can't you just tell me?"

"Where's the fun in that?" At his look she shook her head, "You're no fun…" and held the shell up to his eye so he could take a good look at it. Its specks flashed with color in the light. "Fine. You promise to remember the rules?"

"Yes, of course! Just tell me already."

He watched as his mother sucked in a deep breath, forehead crinkling as if she was thinking of backing out, running her finger across the conches aperture. Tapping to a sound he couldn't hear despite straining his ears as much as he could. A beat later and her expression cleared. "They're called Esse."

"Esse…?"

"Yep, Esse Shells. Like the word essence." She said with a hum. Idea flashing in her head. "Now, I'm only telling you this because I think you're old enough to keep a secret. Nine years old is an important age after all but not nearly as important as your tenth birthday. If you can keep it a secret for, oh… one year then maybe I can let you hold onto my shell?"

Katsura froze. Brown eyes blown wide open and a sudden hopeful excitement coursing through him. For years he'd never been able to touch the shells that his mom would tell stories about- said stories were never told in complete detail and always with some sort of dramatic embellishment that hyped the shells up just so much more -and, all in one day, being told the name, something he'd never even heard before, and potentially being allowed to finally hold said shell... Well, it was like the holidays had come early!

"Really, Mom?!" He found himself squealing. "I can- GAHK!"

She tucked her shell carefully away at his pained exclamation.

"Oh my! Those shark-chompers coming in are just tearing your tongue apart," she winced as she hurriedly forced his mouth open and took a look, "You need to be more careful. If you bite through your tongue than you really won't be able to say anything!"

He shook her off. "Ish fine! I'm tuff-!"

"Nyeh- you sound like you're gargling water!"

"-ish doesn't matter anyway!" He piped up, making a face as he worked around the pain to speak normally again. Tears pricking his eyes. "You- You really mean it?!"

"Well of course I do, I'd never lie to you."

"...I'm gonna do it."

"Huh?" It was a bit hard to hear him, he said it so quietly and there was still a bit of slur to his speech from his bite. Which, coupled with his lisp that he was still needing time to grow out of, was making it even harder to understand than it should have been.

"I'm gonna find all of 'em."

"What?"

Katsura spoke with such conviction and childlike awe that his mother couldn't help but laugh. He didn't so much as falter in his thoughts though, mind whirring a mile a minute. "I'm gonna collect all the shells. All of them." He clarified. Though it wasn't really needed. "And I'm gonna bring them all back to show you."

"Oh? Is that right?"

His eyes gleamed brightly. A toothy grin spreading across his face, "I'm gonna make a collection of shells! And they'll be the crowning jewels!" He exclaimed. "One day I'm gonna leave this island and find them all and figure out all their secrets just like you did- only more successful!"

She clasped a hand to her heart, "Oh, ouch."

"I-I-I-I m-mean-!" He choked. "Sorry!"

"Nyehehe- no, I know you'll go further than I ever could. That's just natural." She then paused, "I'm not so sure about letting you go though. The sea is a dangerous place and you only know what your father and I have taught you about navigation."

He froze.

"B-B-But-!"

"Well, I'll tell you what. It's going to be a long and hard journey so you've gotta be strong enough to take care of yourself. So, if you can prove that you're strong enough, in a few years, I'll let you leave the island with my blessing." She paused. "Let's say... that once you're able to beat Quagga it'll prove that you're strong enough to do whatever you want."

"Wha- But _Mom-_! He's the strongest, it'll take forever before I can beat him-!"

She squished his face in her hands. "Nyehehe- it just means that you're stuck with me for a couple more years! I'm not letting you go and leave me all by my lonesome anytime soon." He grumbled beneath her hands, not able to form any proper arguments. "Now, why don't you stop being so shy and go make friends? You can see about starting that shell collection!"

"Noo-"

"Katsura. Go. Have. Fun."

He made a face. Slumping as he mumbled out an annoyed, "Finnne," dragging the word out as far as he could.

"Good boy!"

-0-

There was an argument going on.

It was quiet enough that he couldn't make out what the voices were saying but he didn't need to. The raw emotion behind each word, the animosity that festered in the undercurrent of syllables, and the almost violent pall that hung in the air was more than enough to say what words could not.

It wasn't until shadows reached under the crack of the door and shuddered with movement that the voices became discernible. But they weren't exactly welcome.

"-it's not as bad as it could be, since you built your house away from the others," a vaguely familiar voice begins to say, cutting through the others, "and we don't have to see that little creature running around-"

A loud slap rips through the air like a gunshot.

Making the hushed silence that followed echo and the quiet, scandalized whisper seem that much louder, " _You are all monsters_."

There's partly an expectation for shouts and screams to break out but there's not another word as one pair of steps turns on their heel and hurriedly opens the door to his room. A sharp breath sucked in, tight and tense, until the other footsteps begin to leave and then all at once air is escaping his lungs in weepy shudders. He feels his mother sweep to his side and her hands reach to turn him around and he takes the chance, now that they're alone, to break down.

"Mo… _om_!"

She gasped at his choked whimper, hands hurriedly brushing over his cheeks. "Oh, my baby…" She breathed, heart throbbing in her chest. "How could they do this to you-?"

"Uhn- ah! It-" he hiccuped, " _hurts!_ "

"I know, baby, I know. It's gonna be okay, we're gonna get you cleaned up." He flinched violently as her thumb rubbed against the edge of his gill, forcing him to swallow a howl of pain, somehow managing to turn it into a yelp. She jumped away, hissing as if she'd been burned. "Ah- I'm so sorry- I didn't mean to-!" Katsura dry heaved between his sobs, the stress and throbbing getting to his head, winding himself up into a ball.

His hiccupping squeaks shuddered to a momentary stall as he managed a strangled gasp, "...Why'd he do this to me?"

"I…"

She didn't have an answer.

Rocks. Dirt. And sand. All shoved as deep as they could possibly go into his gills. With each breath they only seemed to fall deeper into the sensitive flesh, stabbing into his cheeks and sending him into a fresh frenzy of pain each time. It hurt worse than words could describe.

The skin around his gills was scraped and pulled open at the edges - where fingernails had undoubtedly dug in to spread apart each individual gap, leaving blood to slowly seep out of the mutilated skin. Now bruised purple, yellow, and red. It was clear that somebody had gone out of their way to physically hold him down so that they could shove whatever they could get their hands on into his gills, outright tearing his skin to an upsetting degree in order to complete their monstrous task.

"Who?" She was finally able to ask. It's a vengeful, broken sound that strikes a cord somewhere deep.

"'M sorry-" he babbled, "I- I- I didn't wanna worry you and- and-"

He spasms in her arms as his face throbs all the way down to his lungs, insides clenching. It feels like fire is running across his limbs and his throat feels like its swelling with every breath he takes in. It's only slightly alleviated by his mother running her hands down his arms in a comforting gesture, quick murmurs trying to assure him that everything was going to be alright. It certainly didn't feel like that was going to be the case. Katsura took in a deep, shaky breath to calm himself down. It didn't end up amounting to much.

"Y-You always smiled w-w-whenever you saw me talkin' to 'em but- but-" He coughed. "A-And I figured i-it'd be fine, so long as you were hap-happy-! T-T-That it didn't matter if you were smilin'!"

She makes a noise and it sounds like her heart shattering.

"No, no, no, I would never want you to hurt for me- !"

"E-E-Ever since d-dad h-had to g-go-" Katsura fell into violent shivers. At this point, he didn't know whether it was physical or emotional, but it didn't really matter which. "Y-You've just been so… sad. And I thought… thought that it'd be better if you thought I had friends b-but they're all-!"

The word doesn't come to him. "Monsters." And she ends up being the one finishing the sentence.

He nods.

"This… This is all my fault…"

"No, baby, it's mine! You did nothing wrong-!"

"But I did! I- I- I- I-" The words were even more of a struggle to come up with. "T-They always called me a-all sorts of names but then Tava called you a- a-" He couldn't even repeat it. It made him want to scream into his pillow and tear whatever he could get his hands on into shreds. "And I punched him! I didn't even feel guilty about it but he… then he got this idea… said it'd be fun..."

She tightens her grip on him. Not liking one bit where he was going.

"...to shove dirt in my gills, said that maybe they'd shrivel up and disappear. That then I'd b-be normal."

He hiccuped a couple more times after that. But it was controlled now, the raw emotion seeping out of him in stressful waves with each word.

Katsura scrubbed at his face.

It was never so much the taunts and jeers that hurt, but rather the intent behind them. The words were meant to cause harm, were meant to be painful, and that fact alone was enough. It made his stomach roll.

Tava was the worst of the lot though.

It was like he was just throwing out words with the intention of them being curses. And somewhere along the way they became them.

Still. It was easy to laugh off. As bothersome as it was, and no matter how many childish feelings of contempt whirled, it was manageable- made even more so every time he could glance to the side and see his mother smiling and every time she went on about how excited she was that he was fitting in. He wasn't stupid. When they'd been forced to move from Fishman island she'd been so dreadfully sad as they made their way back towards her hometown. It'd been awhile since he'd seen her so relaxed- and if it meant sucking it up for a bit then he could do it. He'd be fine.

...Except he wasn't. Eventually the taunts began to wear thin on his nerves and one wrong comment overstepping the line was enough to set him off. And he didn't have a fishmans strength, as much as he wanted to believe, to back up his first punch.

She gritted her teeth, dusting off his cheeks as best she could by hand and hurriedly snatching up their small medical kit. It was a crappy thing that had her cursing her lack of forethought. But she did her best to manage with it. Carefully picking out rocks and dirt with tweezers-

Katsura howled, toes curling.

"HURTS!"

It took all she had not to sob along with him.

"I know. I know." She carefully cupped the side of his face to hold his head in place, glancing around the room for anything helpful. "We just gotta find something to distract you. It'll help, I promise." No, not that. No. No. Er, maybe? She ground her teeth together, everything they owned was too fragile or not good enough. Distractedly, as if seeking comfort, her hand brushed over her breast pocket and-

Katsura whimpered and she didn't hesitate.

"Here. This will help."

He startled at the sudden weight being pressed into his hands. Mouth dropping open and tears drying for a moment in his sudden shock. "But I-" He stuttered, frozen stiff and staring at the shell placed in his hands. "I'll break it." He whispered.

"Not if you hold really still and if you're careful." She assured. "Besides, what did I tell you? You're ten now. It's been a year."

That did the trick.

Katsura found himself stuck in place, sucking in a deep breath and shuddering with every rock that was removed and every accidental jab. Just barely managing to stay rooted through sheer force of will alone. It was almost unsettling with how he had been enraptured by the shell. He swallowed nervously, fingers curling carefully around it. "Can… Can I… listen to it?"

His mother paused in her ministrations, shifting over to the other side of his face, and let out a low, thoughtful hum. "I don't want you to be disappointed." She said softly, hands gently brush against his wounds and making him flinch away from her touch. "I don't know if you'll be able to hear anything just yet."

"But you listen to it all the time!"

"Only because I know how to." She murmured. "You're welcome to try but… I wouldn't until you're stronger."

He ground his teeth together in his frustration, catching his tongue between them. But all the new, blooming pain did was distract him from his throbbing cheeks. "I'm never going to be strong enough. I can't even beat those guys. I-" he slams his fist into his bed, eyes clenched shut, "-I couldn't do anything to them!"

He's holding the Esse Shell but it feels like a misplaced victory. He didn't deserve to even lay a finger on it- he couldn't even _listen_ to it.

"I'm weak. Like a demure kitty." He couldn't stop himself from referencing the insults. "I can't do anything."

A sad smile spreads across her face and she pulls back from his cheeks. Most of the larger pieces are gone now, but it's going to leave scars and hurt for awhile longer. There's no doubt in her mind that it'll be a horrible reminder every time he looks in the mirror. "That's okay. You don't have to be able to do anything to them right now. Strength is something you learn, it's not something you're born with. It's a constant struggle. And in the moment when you can't go on but you keep going anyways, that's when you'll know you're strong enough."

"I… I don't get it."

"Take a listen to that shell when you do." She delicately folds his fingers around it. "Maybe I was a bit too quick to say you can't touch it… it's not you I don't trust. Just the world and the monsters in it." She looks pained, staring at his mutilated face. "I… I'm sorry. I should've known that something like this would've happened eventually. This is my fault." She doesn't let him get out a sentence to try to deny her having any responsibility. "I… I wish I could promise you that this will never happen again but I… _can't_. There is one thing I can promise though." He felt her hands drop on top of his, over the shell. Warm and comforting, sharpening his mind. "Wherever this shell is, I'll be there. So long as you know where this shell is I will always be by your side."

-0-

It was dark. The rain was falling down heavy and hard, to the point where it dripped down his face and made it a struggle to see, the droplets blurring his vision and forcing him to blink rapidly to try and clear it. There wasn't much to say. His breath was coming out in short, sharp bursts that colored the air as he ran as fast as he possibly could. Not giving his feet the chance to sink into the wet sand, and the only sound that broke through the thundering storm was his own heart beating in his chest.

He didn't know what was happening, head whirling as he tried to make sense of what was going on around him. With no results. There was just too much he didn't understand and the emotions warring inside him were making it harder and harder to focus with each passing second.

 _"Ah…_ "

He yelped lightly, foot sliding out from underneath, sending him crashing into the ground.

There was screams ringing in his head. A reverberating sound that had long since been silenced by the storm but still bounced around his skull, chiming like warning bells. Everything had gone so wrong, so, so quickly. And the only thing helping him push himself to his feet was his own stubbornness and the wild thought that he had to find it.

"Gotta… Gotta find it…" He grunted. "The shell... it-"

It had to be around here somewhere, he was sure of it.

He just needed to find it.

Just needed to hold it because if he couldn't then that would mean-

The cottage door is broken and there's a hole in the window leaving the home open to the worst of the elements and he comes to a sliding stop in front of it. Chest heaving and side aching from exertion and panic. It had to be here- _It had to be here_ -

There's a noise behind him and he whips around with wild eyes.

It's-

"Tava."

At the sound of his name Tava jumps, head shooting up. He looks harried and has a harpoon clenched in his hands like a lifeline, knuckles turning stark white. For a moment, he looks like he's about to say something, Katsura doesn't know what he could possibly think to add, before his gaze hardens and Katsura finds the tip of a harpoon pointed at his chest. He's probably more surprised than he should be.

"This… this is all your fault! You freak of nature! Monster-!"

Between the rain and his own thumping heartbeat Katsura can't really pick out much but even if he'd heard he doubted it was much more than some useless babble. And, for once, the spew of insults just whiffed right off him. Katsura took a threatening step forward.

 _"Tava."_ He cuts in, tongue like a blade. Whatever he's saying gets cut off and thrown out the window. "Where is it." He bites out. It's not a question at this point.

Thunder booms somewhere out at sea and distantly Katsura thinks he can hear an unsettling roar. A low guttural sound of pain and mourning that gets swallowed by the sea just as it gets engulfed in rage.

Tava stares at him, as if uncomprehending.

Katsura takes another step forward.

"Where… _is it._ "

A gleam of recognition and a cold, cruel smirk curls across his face. Smug and all too pleased.

He goes cold.

"Oh that? I tossed it. A dumb cat like you shouldn't be allowed to have anything that pretty. It was useless anyways. So I just threw it into the ocean." He laughed. "Don't you know? That's where pathetic things go. But really? Why do you care? It was just some dumb shell-!"

Something tight in his stomach uncoils.

There's screaming and blood thumping in his ears, turning him deaf to the world around him. The rain is still coming down hard, washing away red that covers both his nails and the sand. And Tava's on the ground, a wild scar running across his mouth and bending his lips into a permanent sneer.

The scene bleeds into the present.

There's no blood dripping down his fingers anymore and there's no blood on his face. The scar is old and withered and worn. Pink against his skin and tugging at his lips as he sputters, hands still positioned to dust himself off.

It's gone.

Katsura blinks twice.

Then takes one look at the boy in front of him and snarls.

"It's you!" He hisses lowly, voice growing angry and cold. "What're _you_ doing here?!"

Tava lets out a panicked cry and trips over himself, hands roaming around wildly and head whipping back and forth in search of his old harpoon. It was a hopeless case. The memory of Ace dragging him across the sand coming back to him sharply. He'd dropped it on the way over. His jaw dropped in horror at the realization.

He threw up his fists in some sort of awkward boxing stance for at least a semblance of comfort.

It didn't do anything.

"It's not of my own volition, I'll tell you that!" He shouts. Eyes trailing over Katsura's sharp claw-like hands and feeling his face ache with ghost pains, gaze immediately snapping away to find a scapegoat. He's a panicked mess and ends up stabbing a quick finger over to the pair of ravenettes congregating on the lawn. "Blame them! I wouldn't have taken a step over here, fish freak, if it wasn't for that asshole literally dragging me halfway across the island!"

"That asshole has a name you know!" Ace said just as Quinn turned to him, brow raised. "Did you really drag him?" And Tava, who was trying to listen but was far too distracted by the redhead in front of him, could've sworn he heard the freckled freak lean over and mutter to the new freak woman, "Yeah, but he deserved it."

"I did not!"

"No, you deserve everything coming to you." Katsura growled, effectively shutting him down. "Get outta here, Tava. Wouldn't want you to end up getting hurt again now would we?"

It was bit of a low blow.

"Why you _little_ -"

Wow, that was not worth repeating.

"I take it they don't like each other?"

"Che, what gave you that idea?" Ace snorted. Stating the obvious much. "You should've heard him on the way over here, he wouldn't shut up for even a second. It was annoying!"

"I think I would've preferred that to the almost drowning…" She muttered under her breath, "We had a run in with that Sea Beast again."

"Tch. No fair."

Quinn rolled her eyes.

"You didn't really miss out on much. Besides…"

The Beast was horrifying to look at up close. But when she was completely defenseless and had no choice but to watch and suffer in her own skin? Gah, it was made ten times worse.

"It's not like I had a chance to fight back anyways. Not that I would've wanted to, mind you! I was too busy trying not to drown- Can't swim remember? So that was a fun time well spent."

"Ah, I was wondering why you're still wet." He'd dried up enough by this point that he was only moderately damp. Ace poked her. "How long were you in the water for?"

Quinn just barely stopped herself from swatting his hand away.

"A couple minutes, I think? It's not like I was counting or anything. It was long enough that it started to really hurt." She shuddered, lungs throbbing at just the thought. They'd fallen into a dull ache by now and would probably hurt for awhile yet. Drowning would be a horribly painful way to die. Quinn cleared her throat, pushing those thoughts away, "Katsura ended up fighting it. He did pretty well with me weighing him down actually, as far as I could tell." Even if he'd come out frustrated with how the fight had ended.

In her opinion the both of them coming out relatively fine was enough to call it a win in her books.

Ace seemed to perk up at the mention.

"How's he fight?! Any strong?"

"I would say so, he did better than you did that's for sure."

"Hey! I got a few hits in!"

"I seem to remember you immediately getting punted into the ocean."

"Shut up! I did not! It was all the freaky currents fault!"

"Kehehe. Sure it was."

Quinn ended up tilting her head at Katsura, watching as he turned an unimpressed look onto Tava and looked to be struggling to hold himself back from stomping the guys face in. Or clawing him with those sharp nails of his. Or using water to- "Hm. Well, okay, maybe not that." Ace raised a questioning brow. "I- I wouldn't call it Fishman Karate. I'm pretty sure that relies on the usage of the bodies water content and I don't think what he was doing was the same thing."

Gah, this was one of the things she didn't really know. Quinn had the horrible habit of skimming information when she didn't think it was important. And with a series like One Piece, as long as it is, she'd only been more prone to do so despite her interest. She'd want to push through the tension as fast as possible. Otherwise it'd be killing her to not know what happens next.

Ace tilted his head at her, "Hah?" Confused.

"His pow… fighting moves."

That didn't really clarify much for him.

Quinn rambled on with her thoughts in lieu of explanation. "Okay, so like, he was controlling the preexisting water surrounding him. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with currents 'cause he mentioned he could read them earlier. Which, I don't really get but whatever." She pauses, thinking it over. "So Fishman Karate, right? That revolves around actual people and their bodies and the water in the air but what he was doing didn't have anything to do with that? It was like he was moving water like it was an actual object and I'm… fifty-fifty on that falling under a different category. I mean, if he was using Karate than he would've been able to break through the Beasts defenses, I'm pretty sure. It's weird…"

Ace blinked.

He hasn't a clue as to what she's saying. "I don't know what you're talking about, Quinn." So he said as much, slowly and somewhat bewildered. Quinn deflated at the admittance, trailing off. The words going straight over his head. "But this is the first time I've met a fishman so I wouldn't know."

He's also a little impressed, despite not completely following, that she'd come up with all that so quickly.

Too bad he didn't know she was basically cheating.

Quinn sighed at him. Deciding to simplify, "He can control water."

But she could've just said that in the first place so…

"That's a bit hard to believe!" Ace leaned in in interest. Quinn quietly agreed with him. Sort of mind-boggling amazing, really. "Can all Fishman do that?"

"I imagine anybody could do it if they received training."

That Koala-Revolutionary was evidence to that fact.

Ace, meanwhile, couldn't help but eye Katsura with a grin. There were a lot of interesting powers he'd never imagined before popping up recently. First Luck, or whatever that meant, bah- he was sure Quinn would figure it out soon enough. She seemed smart enough and he doubted the fruit was only good for winning coin flips. Then there was whatever that blonde guy with super sharp teeth did. That weird contraption he'd had strapped to his back gave Ace a bad feeling and he'd learnt to trust his instincts, lest he get jumped from behind. Now there was a half-Fishman with water powers that looked like he was gearing up to do something decidedly violent.

"You know, I don't think this is gonna end well for him."

"He isn't even paying attention."

They were looking pointedly at Tava. Whose face had gone startling red with rage and looked none-the-wiser to the impending doom etching itself across Katsura's face.

"-leave! That's all your good for making people do anyway!"

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say.

Ace is more than a little fascinated to watch the water dripping off of Katsura's body twist together into a single stream. Surging into Tava. Sweeping him completely off his feet and throwing him into a spinning mess of limbs into the air like a runaway top. He didn't even get the chance to scream before he was slammed back down into the ground.

Quinn winced.

"Ouh, that had to hurt."

Tava came up blubbering, lips smacking as water dripped off of him in streams. "What-" he sputtered and whipped up to stare wide eyed at Quinn and Ace, "-you're just going to stand there? And let him get away with this?" A bit of blood trickled from his nose.

"Yep!" Ace chirped, all too cheerful. "We're pirates, why should we help you?"

Quinn shrugged over his shoulder.

Truth be told, she wasn't interested in much of what was happening. And was more or less fine enough just following Ace around. He seemed like he knew what he was doing at least. If the way he hopped over Tava's gaping form and bounded after Katsura was anything to go by. She hurried after. And if Katsura noticed the pairs scrutiny he either didn't show it or just didn't care. He was much too busy turning on heel and stalking off into the minimal tree coverage. Clutching his parcel to his chest so tightly that he was almost afraid it'd explode if he squeezed any harder.

He just needed to get away from Tava.

It was childish, he knew, but some part of him was absolutely terrified that Tava would get his hands on the old parcel and would chuck it. Somewhere where he could never find it again. And would only be able to stare out to sea and wonder where'd it gone and what it was.

So he gripped it even harder. To the point where he could hear whatever it was scraping against itself. A bad decision, but he wasn't exactly thinking straight at the moment. Gosh, he hoped it wasn't fragile. He didn't want to break it before he even knew what it was. He paled at the thought, arms immediately loosening.

That'd be just like him. To break what was obviously a…

Katsura shook his head and dropped back into a tree, sliding down its trunk.

That- That couldn't be it, could it? It'd been years. He doubted he would have overlooked the floorboard. What were the chances that some stranger- okay, she wasn't really a stranger anymore, but she sure was weird -would trip on a nail and find it?

"Hey, what's that?"

Katsura nearly jumped out of his skin when Ace popped up out of nowhere, leaning over him curiously. He barely managed to swallow the decidedly squealish yelp. Shrinking back from his gaze, "I… uh… I don't know?" He tried. "I just found it."

"Looks like a present."

Yep.

Yeah.

He knew that already.

"...It does, doesn't it?"

Katsura couldn't help but bite down on his tongue as he whispered. Nervous. His hands were shaking and his palms had gone clammy.

Ace raised a brow. "Are you gonna just stare at it or are you gonna open it?"

Katsura pushed back into the tree trunk as Quinn popped up behind Ace, rubbing her face and eyeing the package as well. He couldn't help but flush a bit, embarrassed, under their scrutiny. He kinda lost his mind back there didn't he? Oof. He cringed. They probably thought he was crazy now too.

"Don't worry, we're pirates. We're probably crazier."

He stammered. Did he say that out loud?

"Yes, you did." Quinn snorted. "Trust me, that's wasn't the worst reaction I've seen. Especially not to someone provoking you."

Ace laughed. Honestly curious. "How was that crazy? I would've hit him way sooner than you did," he gave a wicked grin, "and way harder." As if to emphasize his point he popped out a punch into the air. Katsura sweatdropped. "You should take people like that down. They'll never respect you if you don't teach 'em a lesson."

"Or!" Quinn couldn't help but pipe up with a finger. "You could just _not_ fight people? And, you know, not make the situation worse than it already is?"

Katsura got the feeling that she wasn't only talking to him. And remembered, rather mirthlessly, that Ace's first reaction to the Beast was to punch it. And how Quinn's attempt to insult it hadn't ended well for her either.

"Just leave them be?" Ace raised a brow. "If they deserve to be hit than they should be! Don't just back down."

"I'm not saying you don't get back at them, just maybe not when they can retaliate."

"That's… pretty cowardly."

"But effective!" Quinn argued. Ace was sending his crewmate quite the unimpressed look. Katsura found his mood lifting a bit as he watched her redden and huff. "All your method did was let you splash around in the water for a bit. Real nice move that one."

"My _method_?!" Ace repeated incredulously. "I was the one who got a hit in, not you!"

"What fight were you watching?"

"Oh, I'll show you my method-!"

Katsura couldn't help it. Biting his tongue to keep silent failed excruciatingly badly and trying to turn his head away from them really didn't do anything to stave it off. He was snorting out a rather loud laugh. Slapping a hand over his mouth only choked it off into a muffled tittering.

"What're you laughing at, uh…!"

Ace froze, realizing that he'd forgotten his name. It had something to do with whiskers or trees, right?

"Katsura." Quinn thankfully provided just as he was about to bow and ask, choosing instead to introduce the pair herself. Though it was done with a sort of wishy washy wave of her hand. Not exactly the polite greeting he was going for. "Katsura, Ace."

His eyes gleamed, popping up to her face. "You called me Katsura…?"

"Rude not too. After everything." She shrugged. "Besides, you asked."

Katsura felt his heart warm and his shoulders hugged his head as he fought off a grin. It was a little sad- okay, more than a little- but that was probably the nicest gesture towards him he'd gotten in years.

It made him more than a little giddy.

"So are you gonna open it or what?"

"Huh? Oh. Uh."

He felt his stomach drop and twist.

"I… don't know…"

"You're pretty hesitant aren't you?"

He flinched. Whipping up to look at Ace who had taken to staring him down with a rather unreadable face. Katsura didn't know what it was or how he did it but it almost felt like he was staring straight through his soul.

The seconds ticked by.

Katsura was starting to get uncomfortable.

Ah, Quinn thought this looked kinda familiar.

Ace blinked.

"Why?"

Katsura jerked himself out of his stupor.

"Well, because it's- it's-" His head drooped. "Erm." He was almost hoping to catch his tongue between his teeth by accident. The atmosphere suddenly felt heavy.

(- _Because it was obviously a gift of some kind? However many years old it was it'd remained in the house he refused to enter for four years and now it'd just suddenly appeared? Most likely from his mother? How was he supposed to say that out loud- much less take in-?_!)

"It was left before she…"

It was too troubling even to say.

"Just open it." Then Ace smiled and it took up most of his face and all at once Katsura felt his spirit leave his body. "Whoever left it wanted it to go to you right? If it was meant for you than it's your duty to carry it on, as the only one left."

If she'd taken the chance to steal a glance at Ace's eyes she would have noticed them light up- as if confirming something to himself.

But instead Quinn watched the exchange unfold in front of her none the wiser. There was definitely an undercurrent of… something and while it was happening right in front of her she couldn't for the life of her put a name on it. It was more of a vague feeling than anything she could put into words and she would've brushed it off if it wasn't for Katsura confirming he'd noticed it too by letting out a shaky sigh. Whatever it was it certainly had Ace in a good mood. He was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as Katsura very carefully and very slowly opened up his parcel in front of them.

It had Ace oohing and Katsura gasping. And if his eyes were a bit wet neither of them pointed it out.

Quinn, meanwhile, had to keep her humor in check.

Because that wasn't nearly as unexpected as it probably should be.

-0-

The sea was a beast all on it's own.

It was wild and ferocious, a monstrosity all by itself. Sure, it had its moments of calm. But those were few and far between. It was a wet abyss that snapped and bit and screamed. It encompassed all that it could and what it couldn't would be strived for like a touch-starved infant, sending wave after wave until it slowly ate away at its surroundings and crumbled its defensives. Push back only made it worse and if you let it gain even an edge of momentum it wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of you.

And, much like a wild beast or a raging child, it needed to be tamed.

Unfortunately, that took focus and discipline and years of formal training. Three things that Katsura could admit that he didn't really have and had never had. By his hands alone bending the ocean and listening to the currents took time and patience that he often didn't have- especially not with a Beast bearing down on him. The ocean was just too heavy without a little helping hand to guide him through and focus with. A focal point, if you will.

Katsura sniffled.

Overcome with emotions.

As a kid especially, he had had troubles. He just hadn't been able to pay attention for long enough or to get his thoughts straight to really focus. That is until he'd gotten a little help. It'd suddenly occurred to his mother one day that a helping hand- in the literal sense- was exactly what he needed to get the hang of it. So, one day, when he was bent over a small pool of water Katsura had found his mothers pale hand placed over his green one. It was comforting and warm and gave him a reason to think and so he had taken a deep breath- and pushed.

And then the water had moved.

Of course, it had immediately dropped as soon as he starting screaming and jumping for joy but he had done it! He had done it and suddenly it was so much easier to take the plunge. To focus and _hear_ and he'd managed to get the hang of it. Finally! He'd just needed a little push every once in awhile and everything had come easier than ever... Until he'd been left to wallow by himself, nails slicing through the waves and the currents moving without the same strength or effort. It wasn't good. It was almost like he was at square one again. Unable to focus and think quite the same way.

He sucked in a shuddery breath. Eyes gleaming as he slid his gift onto his hands, belts and buckles strapping down over his wrists and thumbs, fingers sliding into well placed loops. It was like that weight was back again. Warm and present, a soft reminder to focus and emboldening him with a sense of security.

It was like a flame had been lit.

And, unable to hold back tears or rub his eyes, all he can do is hop to his feet and let a few spill past his wide smile. "You guys said you were pirates, right?!" Katsura laughs as Ace preens under the acknowledgement and feels his mood lift even more.

"You bet!"

"Then I have a proposal for you!" Katsura stood in front of them with an almost joyous grin on his face- pulling the last strap of the tekko-kagi into place. They were like wolverine claws, made of a rather impressive ensemble of leather loops and belts that fastened three blades to each hand. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the contraption and the small shell shaped emblem carved into the front. It was quite the change in stance compared to the almost fetal position he was in before. "Let me prove it to you: That I'm strong enough to join your crew!"

"Go for it!"


	8. Belle IV: Recruiting, Running, and... Sailing Away! Katsura vs. The Beast, An Intense Challenge!

It was a bit anticlimactic Quinn supposed.

"Is that really all it takes?"

Gosh, she figured she'd be an outlier. But, no. Ace's screening process was just that shit.

She sighed. "Well, welcome to the crew, we're now considered a crowd." Katsura lit up with a grin, shakily excited. The day just kept getting weirder, didn't it?

"He hasn't joined yet Quinn!"

"Right, I still have to prove myself."

"Yeah, you keep saying that but… uh-" Quinn started to say. "What exactly does that even _mean_?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"We're going to fight each oth-"

"I'm going to beat the Beast!"

" _He's_ going to beat the Beast!"

Quinn snorted, "So you weren't on the same page either then."

"Your destination is the Grand Line, isn't it? That's where all pirates worth a damn end up going." Katsura carried on without a note to Ace's mistake, nodding instead along to his confirmation. "I don't know if you know this but a Sea Beast like the one here is native to those waters. I don't think I need to explain what that means-"

Ace's face went blank.

"Ah, I'm gonna have to stop you right there for a sec." Quinn jumped in as soon as she saw the empty expression take over. "Don't assume we know anything because, and I cannot stress this enough, we know basically nothing. I cannot emphasize _how little_ we know." He scrunched up his nose at the claim. "Well, in Ace's case, _I_ actually know quite a bit."

"Wha- hey! I know!"

"Mn. No you don't." Ace kicked her. "OW! That's my _shin_ , you jerk!"

"...right…" Katsura coughed into his fist. "U-Um, anyways, okay. Let me explain. The Beast is from the seas of the Grand Line, one of the most dangerous oceans in the world, and that means he's survived most of his life in those waters. He has to be strong." He asserted. "No, he has to be _built_ that way. 'Cause even for the animals there it's a struggle to survive! And the Beast, well, the Beast absolutely dominated the food chain over there."

"Ergo, if you beat him, you'd be proving you're strong enough to handle the Grand Line."

He snapped his fingers at her. "Exactly!"

"You seem to know a bit about the Grand Line, don't you?" Ace pointed out.

"Well, of course I do!" He puffed up, jerking a thumb to his chest. "I'm from there! I should hope I know about it. I bet you won't find anybody as knowledgeable about those seas as meekshh!"

-Oh. He bit his tongue again.

Quinn shook her head in exasperation.

While Katsura was busy yelping and taking care to hold his injured tongue Ace squinted at Quinn, frown playing across his face. A sudden thought striking him. "Hey Quinn, are you from the Grand Line too? I just figured you were from that other island…" But that wouldn't quite make sense would it? He was pretty sure she'd mentioned at some point that she'd been a newcomer to that place. And now that Ace thought about it she was talking like she knew a lot about the Grand Line. He watched in bemusement as Quinn went pale and clapped her hands over her mouth, expression touchy.

"That's… _one theory_."

Before Ace could get to the bottom of… whatever the hell that meant Katsura had recovered and was pumping a claw up into the air, excitement palpable. It seemed to be getting the better of him. Wide grin stretched until it hurt, "Let's do this!"

Ace couldn't help but raise a brow as Quinn practically leapt on the change in subject. Either sweat or water dripping down the side of her face. "Right, beating the Beast is a good idea. It'd also help us get out of here anyways. I doubt any ship we get our hands on would hold up against it," she hurriedly said, "'Cause, you know, as much as I would love to hit the sea with no food and no plan, we don't have a ship anymore-"

"Oh, right."

"-And from the wrecks in your cave-"

"-i-it's more of an open rock formation?"

"-I take it those are hard to come by."

"We... could swim to the next island!"

"Er, no."

"Chehaha! I like the enthusiasm. Maybe if you wanna be the one to carry Quinn that far. We could always build one?"

Katsura made a face. "There's not much in way of wood. My scraps have too much water damage and are probably going to be pretty useless and you guys're the first ship that's been here in months. I think it's gotten out that coming to this island is a bad idea… only took them a couple years." Then he gestured all around them. "And: trees?"

Yeah, there really weren't all that many. And they were thin enough that they wouldn't do much good anyways.

("I mean, we could tear somebody's house down but that just seems plain rude."

"Ace, please, n _o_.")

"Us coming here was more or less an accident." Quinn admitted. "The currents tugged us in and we gave up on getting out once we saw the island. We didn't exactly prepare to fight a Sea Goat."

"The currents messed up my arm!"

"Er," Katsura winced, "They'll do that. Maybe… don't stick your hand in the worst of it?"

Ace pouted.

Quinn slapped her hands over her face, brow twitching. "Focus, guys: _Ship_. We need to find some mode of transportation here." She raised a finger as Katsura opened his mouth. "A reasonable one. Not… piggyback riding."

"Right… a ship…" Katsura frowned, brows furrowing as he tried to come up with some sort of answer. Ace and Quinn staring at him expectantly. It was kinda nerve wracking actually. "I haven't been to the town in awhile so I can't say for certain but-" A sudden thought struck him and he winced. Oh. Oh. Right, that could work. "Well, you know Tava, right?"

Ace's groan was enough to bring a smile to his face.

"He may have a boat. There's… uh… just one problem." He paused, letting them lean in. "It's about the size of a rowboat and it's… probably. Maybe. Totally _busted?_ " He squeaked out and waited for a reaction as Quinn leaned back and sighed, completely disregarding the suggestion.

"Okay. So that's a no go then. Any other ideas?"

"Hey!"

She was rewarded with an elbow to the side, letting out a small oomph. "You're pretty quick to give up. We'll just have to fix it!" Ace laughed and bumped his fists together. "It sounds like it's our only option anyways. So where is it?"

Katsura coughed into a fist. "So maybe there's two problems…"

_"What."_

"I. Uh. Don't know?"

"How is that in any way a solution then?"

Ace quirked a brow, muttering. "Starting to agree with you here, Quinn." They were coming back around to square one again. "There's gotta be a good way off this island." There had to be. Ace refused to get stuck so soon on his journey.

Katsura felt his face heat up, heart palpitating. Damn it, he'd never get the chance to prove himself if he couldn't help with something as simple as a ship. "W-Wait- I know it doesn't sound like much but it's definitely within the village limits!" He pressed the points of his teeth against his tongue, nervous, as he watched Quinn cross her arms and turn to- he was assuming, at least - the Captain. Brow raised and questioning, she didn't sound too hyped.

"So what's the plan, Ace?"

He almost jumped.

"Huh? Uh-"

"We could keep brainstorming?" Quinn tried.

Ace was used to having someone looking up to him, unfortunately he was also used to his words being either completely ignored or taken with a grain of salt, so the eyes looking for actual direction was a welcome surprise. The openly honest wide brown eyes stretched out in hopeful anticipation were definitely a familiar sight. The tired black ones drifting seemingly in-and-out of focus: not so much. But Ace still found himself puffing out his chest under the attention. This is what it felt like to be a Captain and he was busy eating it up- thoughts stalling long enough that Quinn's gaze was drooping away in disappointment and Katsura had noticeably dimmed. "Let's look for it!" He quickly blurted, wiping the blank look off his face. "We'll just have to search the island then and repair it. It can't be too hard to find."

Quinn held back a groan at the decision. "I thought you were gonna agree with me…"

"Well, it was a terrible idea anyway, so it's no loss."

She balked.

"-Oh, so that's how it's going to be, huh?"

"That's how it's gonna be."

He quirked a brow. Amusement palpable.

Katsura gasped, stars in his eyes. "Really? You're going to follow my idea? Nobody's ever done that before!" He said, making Quinn instantly feel bad. "I'm sure you'll be able to find it somewhere, you guys. It's a small island after all."

Quinn deflated. Well, it was better than nothing at least.

-0-

"I still don't think this constitutes a plan."

Quinn almost regretted offering to carry his bag. The straps of both of theirs together sliding down her bicep every few seconds was just getting irritating. She struggled to adjust them with one hand while still keeping up with him, having to jog a little every few seconds when he pulled ahead.

"It's not that bad."

"OOh, let's find a ship that potentially doesn't exist. We're really playing it straight here. All our cards: on the table." The sarcasm: expected. The accompanying gestures: unnecessary emphasis.

Ace slapped a hand against her back, nearly knocking her off her feet. "C'mon, Quinn. Quit complaining!" He chided. "With the amount of whining you're doing you're starting to sound kinda like those nobles up in High Town." Quinn stopped abruptly, mouth hanging in open horror. He almost didn't notice her stop until he turned back to her, confused. "Quinn? What's with that face?"

 _Wow_. That hurt.

...She really didn't know what to say to that.

"T-That's- I don't think that's a fair comparison." She managed to choke out finally. That was way more offensive than she'd thought it'd be.

Ace hummed, "Hmm. Yeah, I guess not. Compared to most other nobles I've met," which was like _one_ but he'd been in High Town enough to hear them run their mouths and get a pretty good impression of what they were usually like, "you're pretty chill actually."

That's not any better.

"...I'm not…" She trailed off awkwardly before- "Right. I just like being prepared is all."

Ace shrugged. "Anyways where'd that Ta... Tam... Uh, where'd that guy from before go?"

Quinn decided it best to leap on the change in subject. Voice cracking a bit, "Don't know, and Katsura already ran off too." He'd taken off the moment they'd started walking towards the direction of the village. She thought she'd heard him shouting something about gathering up his things and then fighting the Beast before catching up with them. Whatever. That kid was too enthusiastic.

"Damn. We could've gotten directions from him. If it's that guys ship then he's gotta know where to find it."

"That would've been nice, huh?"

Ace nodded and Quinn sighed as he crossed his arms, frowning.

"This is… boring, isn't it?"

They were walking. The land was flat and pretty uninteresting and the town didn't have any people, or at least none they could see. Yeah, it was kind of a boring place. But she didn't think that's what he meant.

Quinn sideyed him.

"Ace, I almost got eaten by an oversized fish."

"Yeah, but it was _boring_."

She was almost afraid to ask.

"...What do you want to happen?"

Ace shrugged. A better answer than she expected. And then he looked at her, "Hey, you could try luckifying it! Maybe something cool will happen then!"

"I… is that even a word?"

"I said it, didn't I?" He clapped a hand on her back and Quinn shrunk away. Urrrrgh. "C'mon, Quinn! Do it. You gotta try it out! What's the point in having powers if you never use them?"

"What's the point in using powers when you know it won't end well."

"What's the worst that could happen? Why don't you try _living_ a little?"

She grimaced.

It felt like they were challenging the universe here.

But he had a point. She guessed.

"...Fine."

"Yea-!"

She stuck a finger in his face. Ace had half a mind to bite it. "But if anything goes wrong, at all: I reserve the right to say I told you so."

He grinned, "And if we find the boat. Then I get to."

"Uh-huh, sure." Like that'll happen. She rolled her eyes. Something was telling her that this really wasn't going to end well but, damn it, it was the best idea they had so far. "Let's just flip this damn coin and see what happens. Heads, the boats to our right. Tails, it's on the left." God, why was she doing this. Quinn swiped a mark of gold across the inside of her palm. The last time she tried this they ended up getting chased off the island by its hybrid inhabitants. Still, she shoved a hand into her back pocket and fished out a loose coin, surprised to find it there from the last island.

Ace stopped to watch, bouncing on the balls of his feet like a giddy highschool girl.

"Oh, Lucky Lucky powers, don't jinx me now."

Quinn balanced the coin on the nail of her thumb and flipped.

Then, nearly collapsed when something heavy hit her in the back of the head. Vision blacking for half a second. She yelped instinctually. "Dude, what the fuck!" Ace jumped to catch the coin before it hit the ground, eyeing the… "Is that a freaking _rock?_!" Holy shit, she's surprised she didn't get knocked out. She ground her teeth together, feeling the back of her head for a cut.

As she suspected, her fingers drifted over a gouge in the back of her head.

"Ow, 'm bleeding."

"Hey, Quinn, I found the villagers!"

She groaned, "I noticed." Was it just her or was the sun brighter than usual. "But _why_?" She rasped.

Well, they seemed to have solved the puzzle of the missing villagers. Quite a little crowd had gathered at the other end of the street and a few heads were poking out from around corners and windows at them. If Quinn didn't know any better she'd say they looked angry- oh wait!

"HEY- you two!"

There was someone heading the crowd, a group of boys carrying old rusty harpoons practically hanging off said person. Had Ace been paying them more attention, or if he had a better memory for nameless faces, he would've remembered that they'd been the ones with Tava earlier, when he first washed ashore. Unfortunately, both him and Quinn were left staring blankly at the group.

"You're with that monster-brat, aren't you?! How dare you attack the children of this island and to _kidnap_ one of them…" Oh, they were pissed. "We'll make you pay for coming to our village!"

She wanted to be intimidated but her thoughts weren't exactly caught up with her just yet. And Ace leaning over nonchalantly to check the back of her head, squinting at the dark locks, was not helping. "It doesn't look too bad. I don't think."

"Huh? Oh, uh, thanks for checking?"

"You should dodge better next time."

" _So_ sorry." She rolled her eyes.

"YOU'RE NOT LISTENING?!"

"Hey, the marks gone."

"Ah, is it?" Quinn replied airily. "Check the coin then."

"Ah, it's heads." Ace grinned, pocketing the coin quickly. She narrowed her eyes. That was _her_ damn money. "That means it's to the right! Come on!"

"Alright, don't grab- okay, being dragged."

She was just barely pulled out of the way of another rock.

"GET THEM!"

There's not much she can do other than let it happen. Squeaking and feet stumbling with an annoying sense of deja vu. "Be glad I have good cardio." She hissed, "Can we, really, not make a habit of this? This is… the third time we're being chased off an island."

"It's not that bad."

"We've only _been_ to three islands."

Quinn yelped and ducked under a rock.

"Chehaha- At least it's not boring anymore!"

"Oh, shut u- gah!"

"This way!" They tore off down a side street. "For such a small place-" Ace dodged an apple core thrown from a window. "-there sure are a lot of people!"

"Tch. Think about how many people got sucked in just like us, except they didn't have the added benefit-" Quinn had no idea where they were going but Ace seemed to have a clue, turning and looking around before rushing down another path, making sure to keep to the right."-of not being racist."

"What's that gotta do with anything?"

It was weird to have this conversation while running for their lives- well maybe not their lives. That was pretty dramatic. Maybe just their hides. Especially since Quinn instinctually started to talk with her hands, the hand not holding their bags gesturing just wildly enough that Ace was shooting her bemused glances every few seconds.

"All I'm sayin' is that Katsura seems very eager to please. It's rather sad really. I wouldn't exactly say I'm pleasant," she ducked, "but a couple kind words and he's ready to kick a Sea Beasts ass and leave everything behind? I bet everybody here took one look at his gills and assumed the worst. And I'm sure rumors from that Tava guy didn't help."

"What makes you think there's rumors?"

"Ace, there's always rumors."

It sounded like she was speaking from experience.

But well, Ace frowned, she had a point. The people here were certainly problematic in all the worst ways. And he wasn't just talking about the attempts to stone them to death. Though those were starting to die down as they got further and further away. The crowd falling behind when they showed no signs of slowing down. It wasn't surprising. There always seemed to be some kind of push to get rid of anybody who didn't fit in. And, in Ace's admittedly quite limited experience, that usually resulted in fire and the smell of death and rubbage. The resulting growl of frustration was more than warranted, "But it's _his_ decision to come, not theirs."

"They certainly provide excellent incentive."

There was no denying that.

Didn't mean he had to like it.

Ace suddenly slid to a stop and Quinn stumbled, nearly running past him. "Where are you going?" Quinn was panting harder than she should, vision edged by a blur. She grimaced, yeah, that was a definite concussion. Ow. "It just told us to go to the right, not take all these winding paths. How do you know which way?"

"Gut feeling."

"-Ace, please, that's not…" she hung her head, "That's not a viable method."

"It's as good as luck!"

She shook her head, resting up against one of the houses doors. "Sure, whatever you say, Ace." They weren't going to get anywhere at this rate. And she was definitely not going to flip another coin if it meant they were going to be chased again. These luck powers were going to be the death of her. "What're we going to- _ah_!" Quinn went down flailing when the door fell open beside her. "OW, ow, ow, _ow_! Arm!"

Ace blinked.

Well, there was the ship.

"Huh, told you so."

Quinn groaned, yanking her bruised arm out from underneath her. "You're not helping."

In the dustiest corner of the room there was the hull of what was obviously a small ship beneath tarps and stacks of newspapers and other things. She didn't know why but she glared at it. There didn't seem to be much wrong with it, other than it being old, but still. She sniffed suspiciously. "This is… scarily convenient, isn't it?"

A glass smashed right next to her head.

"Aa. figured."

She wondered if Katsura was doing any better.

…

…

Okay. Okay. Okay. He was okay… he _thinks_.

"I've got this, I've got this, I've- oh I don't got this!" Augh, he felt his teeth chattering, nerves absolutely fried. "This isn't going to end well…" As soon as he said that he quickly slapped himself. "Nope! No, negativity! I have to have this!"

Those two were counting on him! If he didn't beat the Beast then there was no getting off the island at all and he didn't want to be the one to cut someone's pirates career short.

Right, so Katsura had to complete this mission, and he had the utmost confidence in himself.

"Who am I kidding? This is going to suck." He groaned, dragging a hand over his face. He shook his head. He had to get back on track. "People are countin' on you, Katsura: it's time to batten down the hatches and get ready to di- _ve_!" If he extended the word a bit awkwardly in the middle, well, he'd deny it.

He fumbled with the straps of his bags, adjusting them so they strapped down tightly to his chest. No matter how little was actually in them he was carrying everything he owned on his back, sans the majority of his shell collection, and he'd be damned if he was going to lose anything because he was an idiot who forgot to secure it. Katsura pressed his lips together, a smile threatening to spread and he couldn't keep the silly grin down for long. He was just absolutely exhilarated. With the claws fastened to his hands and the waves on his side the Beast wouldn't know what hit him!

"Today's the day I start my adventure!" He shouted, scrubbing a hand over his face. "I wish you could see me now, I'm following all the rules you set to leave this place."

"Well, I see you."

"Mom?" Katsura gasped.

"What-?! _NO_!"

Tava yelled, waving a fist.

Oh. That's… disappointing.

"I don't sound anything like a girl, how could you make such a dumb mistake?! You idiot!" He stomped towards him, face red. "You think you're so big, don't you?" He didn't wait for an answer. Cheeks puffing out and shooting him a suspicious glare, "What're you doing up here whispering to yourself? You're not planning anything are you? Maybe with those pirates?!" Katsura couldn't help but blink, anger at him showing his ugly mug again temporarily abating, he was really getting worked up over this, wasn't he? "That's right! I overheard," he accused, "you're thinking of joining them. The only ones that could stand you is a pair of crazy criminals, huh? I always knew you were no good. I can finally see it all comin' to fruition-"

Katsura tilted his head at him, "You're kind of… sad."

"-ah- w-wha- you…!" Tava sputtered, face souring even further.

"Yeah, pretty pathetic."

Whatever he'd been planning on saying was silenced as Katsura found his smile back in full force, "Sorry, Tava, but even you can ruin my mood anymore today." He clenched a fist, raising a clawed hand to point it at the boys chest. "Today! I'm going to beat the Beast and prove that I'm strong enough for the Grand Line- then… then I'm going to sail away from here. And I'm going to collect every last one of those special shells, starting with the one you tossed! Wherever it may be!"

"I-"

Tava flinched at the blades. But then, in a moment of daring, he took an angry step forward.

"You're a bitch."

"And here I thought I was a kitty all these years."

He backflipped off the cliff edge.

Katsura yelped, hands slapping his cheeks, "Augh, that was so lame! I could've come up with something so much cooler, oh my god- _embarrassing_!"

He hit the water.

…

…

"I was already pretty certain I'd be saying this eventually but," Quinn started as calmly as she could manage, voice clipped, "THIS _S_ O COUNTS AS I TOLD YOU SO!"

Something- or, more accurately, somebody slammed against the broken door, sending the rusty hinges rattling. It took all she had to stay standing, stumbling back a step before throwing her weight back into the door to hold it down, catching some fingers. The jeers and screaming and cheers of "we got them cornered" were not making the job any easier.

Ace flashed her a thumbs up.

"Do your best. You got this, Quinn."

She was going to throttle him.

"Oh, stop it." She snapped. "Just fix the ship! I won't hold them for long."

He rolled his eyes and sneezed as he tugged the ship out of its hiding place. Everything leant up against it came to a crashing fall. "Whoops." Turns out the boat wasn't as good as she first thought. Ace let out a low whistle, "Wow, this is one crappy boat! It's pretty much falling apart. Why even keep this? Could scrap it an' sell it, and I could've used some of this wood on the treehouse…" The door thumped behind her and Quinn's brow twitch.

"Can you fix it or not?"

He snorted. "Of course I can."

"Great…"

There was that at least.

Ace set to work. The ship was not in good shape. The hull was mostly intact, sure, which was lucky because if it was damaged he probably wouldn't have been able to scavenge it. He slid his hands over the boards- the big issue was the bow. The wood was warped and there was more than a few nails waiting to stab him, the whole thing would have to be worked around with parts replaced. He began looking around the room for anything he could use.

Seeing as Ace seemed to know what he was doing she gritted her teeth and stubbornly shoved her back harder into the door when someone on the other side began throwing their weight around. The problem was that it was locked with a sliding chain, which was putting up a valiant fight actually- thank you little chain- and fingers were trying to wiggle their way in.

Speaking of which, a hand was creeping frighteningly close to the lock.

_"I will cut you."_

"What?"

The hand snapped back.

"Not you," she shook her head, "Just focus on the boat."

There was enough stuff around that Ace could work with. A semblance of an idea beginning to form. He was not a shipwright in any sense of the word but having dealt with Luffy and both his destructive habits he'd gotten pretty good at repairing stuff to a… _reasonably_ working condition. It just wouldn't be pretty. He gathered up whatever loose nails he could find and pulled boards off of an old barrel, struggling with the metal work for a bit until finally getting fed up and snapping it over his knee.

"Holy shit, dude."

Quinn breathed.

"Huh?" Ace cast a distracted and bemused glance over his shoulder.

"Nothing." The door thumped. "I take it you've, ugh, got experience with this kind of thing?" She couldn't make heads or tails out of what he was doing, but didn't really care enough to figure it out either. More impressed by the simple fact that he could do it. "There's a mallet that you can use as a hammer to your right."

He perked up. "Sweet. Thanks," before shrugging, "Uh, yeah! There was all kinds of scraps in Grey Terminal, I don't know why the Nobles would throw half the stuff they did away- I mean, all the food they wasted too- and we had to repair the treehouse a lot. Especially after that one time Luffy got struck by lightning…"

If she hadn't known that he was impervious to lightning she'd be blanching right now. "Seriously?"

He didn't seem to hear her. "Nobles are downright idiotic about the stuff they waste, no offense."

"Why would I-?"

"Aha, just what I needed!" He exclaimed, bending the broken metal into rings around a couple boards. Securing a large chunk of his work to the front of the ship. Quinn didn't know what it was supposed to do. Parts were sticking up every which way and he'd removed a good chunk of the messed up bits, fiddling with a pair of boards and trying to put them together. It looked like the ship exploded from the inside out, honestly.

A frustrated shout came from outside. "They have to come out at some point. You, keep at the door, everyone else, let's surround the place! We'll make them tell us what they did to Tava!" And Quinn drooped in relief as some of the pressure on the door finally disappeared. She still didn't walk away from it but she did take the chance to slide to the floor, flopping her arms between her legs, head pressed back.

"They've moved around the building."

He waved her off, "I heard."

"Hope they don't light the place on fire while we're inside," she muttered, and Ace winced. "That would suck."

Yes, he agreed, that would indeed suck. But it wasn't like they were stuck so it wouldn't be _that_ bad. He spun the mallet in his hand as he shoved boards into place, making sure they were tight, before he struggled to bend the metalwork to help hold it all together.

"You're gonna give them ideas."

"...Shit. Think they can hear us?"

He glanced around the room. As if he'd see anything to tell them otherwise, before settling with a shrug, "Probably not."

Quinn ran her hands over her legs awkwardly. It was quiet except for the sounds of Ace working and the door trying to open, painfully grinding into her back and definitely going to leave a bruise later.

She clapped her hands together.

" _So_ …"

She should say something.

"...How's your day been goin'?"

Not that.

Ace snorted, unable to stop a snicker. "Pretty great actually!" He pinched his sweater. "Aside from the sweater though, and the lack of hat…"

"I'm workin' on it. I'm almost done, too. And the sweaters just to keep the sun directly off your skin, don't need you getting skin cancer. You'll just have to settle for heat stroke." She smirked and teased. "It'll be fun. You'll pass out and feel terrible."

"Chehaha. We have different definitions of fun then." He laughed and jumped up onto his feet, turning to rummage through the rooms items. Looking for something but Quinn didn't know what, eyeing the room.

She licked her lips. "What are you searching for?"

"I need to find something to seal the boards together." He frowned. "It'll leak if I don't." One too many rainy days had taught him to not skimp on the details. And if a roof could get water pouring through it then he didn't want to think about what it would do to a boat in the water. Quinn followed his line of thinking and made a face.

"Oh, we are so screwed."

"Maybe with that attitude! You should try being more positive," Ace felt a grin stretch over his face. Idea hitting him as he took in the sight of what he had to work with. "I'll use tarps!"

"Tarps?" That… did not sound like it would work.

"If I use a shit ton of nails and metal to hold it to the boards then it'll work well enough." Yeah, that did not sound like it would hold together for long. "It just needs to keep water out of the gaps."

Quinn sighed.

"How long?"

"Five minutes."

"Five minutes…" She echoed. "And what, in five minutes, are we going to do about them?"

"Kick their asses of course!"

"While carrying a boat?"

Ace opened his mouth, and then shut it. She had a point there.

"I'll just come up with something else then!"

Quinn frowned. It probably wouldn't be a very good idea. Light bouncing off the metal suddenly caught her eye. Ace had sure bent that pretty easy, huh?

A crazy thought came to her. "Uh… hey, Ace?"

He didn't know if he liked that glint in her eyes.

"Yeah…?"

"How strong are you exactly?"

…

…

"Ready?"

"Count to three."

"Wait, on three or after three?"

" _On._ "

"Got it. One… two…"

So, Ace had managed to finish the boat and Quinn had kept anyone from getting in. Unfortunately, that raised the question of how they were going to get out without getting attacked or their boat wrecked by the villagers. And then Quinn got an idea.

A stupid one, really.

Ace should have said no. But he agreed to it. The shit.

Which brings us to what they're doing right now: executing the dumb plan that should've been scrapped.

" _THREE!"_

"Mush, Ace! Mush!"

"I'm not a _dog!_ "

"Just go already!"

He grumbled under his breath, disgruntled. To be fair, Quinn was entirely just in the comment, taking in the sight of ropes wrapped around his arms and attaching him to the boat like reins. It made it fairly hard to keep her footing when he took off, dragging the boat with her situated inside through the slamming open door. Really, the guy on the other side didn't know what hit him. She almost felt bad.

Then she tossed a heavy can at someones head: "Boom, headshot!" And instantly forgot about it.

"Chehaha! Nice one!"

She couldn't help but laugh with him. Already pulling a few more from the pile of cans stacked in the base of the ship and taking aim at anybody she could see. It… the sadistic glee may have been a bit worrying.

"Taking a left!"

"Ah!" She almost went spilling out the side when he took a sudden sharp turn. Losing a few cans in the process. She yelped, falling to her knees to hold onto the sides. "Careful, I'm almost out of ammo!" But she guessed it didn't really matter as the majority of the villagers fell back to either nurse their wounds or avoid getting hit. "Ah, take a right and then a left! We'll be at the water's edge then!" The plan was working, at least, as no one who tried to attack the boat was able to get close.

Ace made a few more sharp turns, following her directions. The ropes twisted around his arms uncomfortably at the move and he glanced back to see the boat hit a rock and turn over. "Watch out!" Quinn barely managed to kick off the side of a building as she nearly went careening into a wall, just barely managing to right herself back onto the correct path. Almost twisting her ankle in the process.

"I see the ocean!"

Ace called back to her with a toothy smile.

"And," before he raised a brow, "Someone else?"

"Huh? Who?"

"HALT!" A large man threw out a hand in the universal sign for stop, a sword clutched in his other hand. Sneering at them. "If you shall not answer for your crimes…" He seethed. "THEN I WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO CUT YOU DOWN! IF MY NAME ISN'T- AII _EEEEE_ Y?!"

Quinn reared an arm back and chucked a can at him. Straight.

Into his crotch.

_"Oh, sweet mother of god-!"_

Ace blinked. Unable to help but turn a bit blue in sympathy. "Erk, that's a really low blow, Quinn…"

Even she made a face. Rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, a bit disappointed in herself that she didn't feel the slightest bit guilty at the shot.

Ace grimaced at the collapsed form and just decided to jump straight over him. "Sorry!"

"Woah-" Quinn fell back when the boat hit him and was sent jostling up into the air. "Ah!"

Ace managed to unwrap the ropes tying him down just in time to land in the flying ship. Grunting as his knees slammed into Quinn and sent both of them sprawling. "Ow, ow, ow…!" Quinn muttered under her breath and tried to shove him off. "Ge' off!"

She had almost been about to pull herself back up when Ace suddenly exclaimed..

"We're about to hit the sea!"

"Ha-?"

The boat hit with a loud creak and splash.

For a second, water spilled over the sides of the boat and she sprayed out a nasty gulp of sea and sand before they were floating away from the shore with a few well-timed strokes from Ace paddling them further away. He stuck a tongue out at the villagers forming on the shoreline with a silly face, taunting. "You can't catch us, we're pirates! Che- hey!" Abruptly Quinn shoved him off. "Rude."

"Ex- _cuse_ me." She snarked back, "Your knees were in my chest," she shook her head. "At least we can finally leave this place."

The villagers jeered at the pair- the two… _pirates_. It'd been awhile since the villagers had seen an attack on one of their own, so long as they stayed out of those two beasts ways they'd been fine, but they weren't expecting to have to deal with two strangers encroaching on their tense peace. They did not take kindly to outsiders who didn't fit in at all.

"Of course they were criminals… scum of the sea!"

"We should have known, if only we still had access to the Marines."

"Tch. You don't remember what happened the last time we called them, they would've burned the last of this place down to the ground if they found out there were pirates here."

"Poor, Tava… I hope he's alright. Wherever they took him."

They glared in grim silence.

"At least, we know they won't survive. The currents that take you out of this island… it'll tear a hole in even the strongest of ships. With a crappy boat like that, they're as good as dead." They shared a dark look. "If the Beast doesn't get them first that is."

…

…

He sunk.

Eyes closed, with slow calm breaths taken in an attempt to ease his racing heart. The water shivered to life around him and he sunk further and further down with it. Quiet, listening. Nothing.

_"Hnrn… and I almost thought you'd be waiting."_

Well, he shouldn't complain. He could go into this mentally prepared then.

 _"Alright, Beast…"_ He stuck out his hand. _"Let's_ fight." And made a fist. Hissing through his teeth, nails digging into his palm hard enough to draw slow, thin streams of blood.

The red wafted for a moment and Katsura blinked. When he opened his eyes next it was to a maw of teeth and a rippling growling beginning to boil the water surrounding them.

"Hi."

Katsura tried to sound confident, tried to feel confident too, but it didn't seem to work as much as he wanted it to. The claws settled over his fingers, the currents gathered along the blades, and- nope! His heart was still thundering and he could hear the blood beat in his ears.

It was more than a little disappointing to find that the little bit of calmness and concentration the weapons provided did not settle his quivering heart. No, fear was making itself quite at home in his chest. At least it helped rein in his bolstered ego. Before, he'd been positively giddy to fight the Beast but now that there was something on the line he was terrified to fail.

He'd rather be confident than arrogant. Or, you know, only semi-injured rather than _dead._

But he was about done with fear. It wouldn't do him any good here, it'd only serve to get in the way.

"Well," he licked his lips, "Guess I'll just have to be brave then."

Had Katsura not been staring the Beast dead in the face he would've missed the peeved and unmistakable roll of its eyes. Jaw dropping a bit in shock at the reaction. Like _he_ was the one to be annoyed!

The Beast snorted- Katsura barely held back an indignant shout- and drove forward, teeth plunging into empty space and leaving him shivering at the closed maw inches from his nose. It was a good thing he dodged in time. Against such a violent snap of the jaws Katsura wouldn't have stood a chance, so he slid back behind its pupil.

The eye moved to follow him.

"Eek, that's not creepy at all!"

A tail went whipping around its side and bore down on top of him. Katsura felt his arms strain alongside the current to pull himself flipping away and further out to sea. The familiar ache of working with the ocean pulling him to a better vantage point. It didn't last long.

The Beast was turning on its head to lunge at him. He grinned, slightly nervous, slapping a hand over one of his wrists and rearing back his elbow, head ducking just enough that his bandana shadowed his face. Bubbles frothed up from the current he gathered in hand, metal humming with life and- "Time to break these blades in…"

The Beast snapped out.

"...with a-"

He threw a foot out, kicking off the water to shove himself out of the way.

" _ **GONG!**_ "

And the waves went concave and there was blood in the water.

The sea rippled outward in concentric swells, the resounding boom making him want to cover his ears as Katsura felt his arm vibrate alongside the hit. It was a forceful attack. One that had him shaking his arm to get rid of a spot of sting that slid up his elbow from nearly overdoing it. Ha, he may have gone a bit overboard with this one.

"...eh…!" He had to smirk though.

Opening and closing his hand and eyeing his palm, a mix of white and red where it'd connected. It felt like it burned, the sensation almost painful, but he found himself not wanting it to go away. The ache making him press his teeth to his tongue to help ignore it, blades shaking as he made a fist and turned away from the marks. The claws shone just as brightly as they did before; holding strong. "You did pretty well too…"

The Beast was sent flying back, a limp figure hanging in the water for a span of seconds. Face matted with blood that, for once, was its own. Katsura grinned. Then immediately stopped when the Best jerked, coming alive into furious motion.

He very nearly lost his head, bending at the knees in an almost perfect ninety-degree angle.

Now he'd gone and done it. Having to bodily throw himself out of the way of the Beasts increasingly violent barrage of attacks that had his heart jumping out of his chest and shooting across the sea to catch his breath.

"B _rrr_ rrooo _ooo_ -"

He didn't get the chance to.

"Ga _h_ -!"

Dodge. Dodge. Dodge. He bounced off the water and sent himself spinning above, back to the surface. He had to find a- There! An opening!

He reared back both arms, " _ **Cymbal!**_ " And clapped.

The water rushed out in six curved slices and the Beast screamed. Katsura took the chance to take a few more swipes, claws raking against the tough skin and teeth gritting in exertion. It was taking more than what he had in him to pierce its hide.

"Grr, Beast, stay down!" He couldn't help but growl out as he attacked. "I'll hit as many times as necessary so just-"

A scream caught in the back of his throat as he failed to throw his arms up in defense.

He wasn't expecting to be body slammed out of the water. Breath catching in his throat as water was replaced by oxygen and blood burst from his nose, head knocked back. For a moment, all he could do was stare up at the clouds in surprise before he was blinking and flipping around to stare at the ocean below.

Just in time to see the Beast slither back into the depths.

He was falling.

"Wow." Okay, he had to state the obvious. "This is hig _h_ …!"

He could see most of the island from up here.

Albeit it was more than a little blurry, he could make out the town and the lack of trees and spot the silhouette of a ship setting sail into the horrendous currents that he and the Beast were making worse with their fight. Katsura grimaced. Ace and Quinn. They were not going to be able to make it much further in a boat that small, not being buffeted by the waves like they were. And, if he was seeing correctly, which he was only half sure he was, then they were headed directly into the most dangerous of waters.

He opened his mouth to try and gain their attention.

"Ace! Qui-!"

Out of nowhere the Beast twisted out from the ocean depths and Katsura spun just inches out of a bite, bouncing against the lithe body and sending himself rattling heels over head into the water. He darted away as fast as he could to avoid the body of the Beast slamming back down on top of him, teeth grinding and face a stinging mess. It was beyond staggering but he shook his head and pushed on. If he didn't warn them they'd completely ruin the boat and then they'd most certainly be stuck.

Katsura growled and glanced behind-

At least the jump the Beast had decided to pull off had left it disoriented, head shaking and looking around for any sign of him. Tch. It'd catch his scent soon enough.

Katsura rolled his eyes and focused on moving as quickly as possible.

"C'mon, c'mon…"

Yes! There!

He felt himself break into a grin when he spotted the rickety boards and plastic tarp of a thrown together ship through the frothy sea. Speeding up with a burst of excitement and practically launching himself onto the deck. "-Guys! Hey! You managed to find the boat!" He decided to pointedly ignore the shocked screams in response. "I can't believe it!"

"Ah! Katsura, hey!" Ace was the first to recover.

Quinn was not so lucky, hand clasped to her heart and spouting curses. "Urg, ohm _ygod_ \- gonna give me a heart attack. Christ Almighty."

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Ace rolled his eyes. Lighting up at the sight of the redhead, "Did you beat the Sea Beast already?" If so, that was certainly quick. Katsura made a face.

"Uh-" There came a telltale roar from behind him.

"Yeah, I'll take that as a no."

"Definite no." Quinn groaned.

"Well, so~rry." He pouted indignantly. "I had to run over here to help you guys." They each gave him blank stares and he huffed. "I told you guys to watch out for the currents, didn't I? You're headed straight into no-man's land- er, no-man's sea." To support that statement he stabbed his figure in the direction the boat was being pulled and raised a brow.

Ace and Quinn winced. The sight of choppy and disastrous waters not welcome. Ace bobbed his head at the waves though, this was all already anticipated. And he couldn't help the cheeky grin stretching over his face as he turned to the resident half-fishman. "That's fine! You'll just have to take care of it, won't you?"

Katsura flushed red. Flattered at the confidence.

"W-Well, yeah, that's why I came over-!"

"Then we're counting on you, Katsura!"

If possible he turned redder and bit his lip to fight his smile down. He failed, miserably. "I- Okay. Okay! Y-Yeah, count on me…!" Katsura hurried to unhook his bags and drop them in the boat before gleefully dropping onto the side of the ship to tug it into a harsh angle. More than a little overzealous.

Quinn snickered at the reaction, "Way to charm him, Ace."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

She snorted. Yeah, right.

The boat turned and Katsura grunted with the weight of it, kicking to the side of the currents as he tried to send it on the right path. If he could just get it over a tiny, little bit more then he wouldn't have to do anything to-

"BEAST!"

He looked up at Quinn's shout. "Oh, shi-!"

Ace grunted as the boat was suddenly sent spinning as a mini-tsunami of water threatened to capsize them. The boat sent rocking back and forth until it was almost perpendicular to the sea. He ended up coughing and hacking and pumping a fist against his chest to try and reorient himself, grip on the wood slippery now that they were covered in water. "Gah, Quinn?! Katsura?!" He managed to croak, rubbing at his eyes.

Quinn was the only one to respond, and she did not sound happy. "Keh-?! S-Some help h-here would be n-nice!"

"Huh?"

She struggled to form a coherent sentence. "S-Seriously, help." Quinn moaned out, water clogging her nose and throat. She was only just staying above the ocean's surface, arm thrown over the side of the ship to keep her hooked in place.

"Yep, that'd do it."

Ace gripped her under the arms, yanking her out of the ocean and the resulting devil fruit stupor. Ignoring the sharp gasp of her taking in fresh air and wringing out his sweater.

"This brings back memories."

"Hufk, ah- I'll… try to not make it a habit."

"Where'd Katsura go?"

"He…" Oh, wow, it was hard to breathe. "He tackled the Beast into the water when he popped up. Very nearly caught us in it too."

Ace hummed at that, eyeing the waves as the boat began to finally right itself. They were being shoved along the currents, a new one then what they were on before, and if he was seeing things correctly…

He brightened visibly, impressed. "Hey, he did it, Quinn! We're on the right path now!"

She closed her eyes, not really listening. "...woo, that's great, Ace."

He slapped her. _Hard._ "Quinn? Oy, Quinn, don't fall asleep, I'm only used to me doin' that. Not other people." Quinn openly gaped at him, hand on her cheek.

_"-Why."_

"Ah, good. You're awake."

_"You're about to not be."_

He disregarded the threat. "We gotta keep an eye out for them. Can't lose sight of 'em."

She just grumbled, eyes narrowed at his back, rubbing her stinging cheek and muttering mutinous curses just barely quiet enough that he couldn't pick out much of what she said. Which was good because Quinn was plotting his murder. She shakes her head.

"Fine, whatever, I'll…" She trails off as something lifts up out of the ocean behind them.

Quinn gasps.

"...Ace?"

He turns.

Katsura gritted his teeth to the feeling of his shoulder slamming into the Beasts form, the weight behind it bearing down on him in a monstrous display of power. But he had his own force behind him and Katsura didn't know how, and he certainly didn't know where it came from, but he was pretty sure he just managed to suplex a Sea Beast.

He cackles. "Yes! Take that, damn it!" More than a little exhilarated.

It hits before he can even move.

He can only blink afterwards.

It's as if the worlds gone dark. And there's a high pitched ringing in his ears- it cuts out all sound. The waves, the water pressure, even his own heartbeat, it all goes quiet.

Strangely, there's no pain. But something tells him that it's just the adrenaline messing with his nerves and cutting off all communication from his brain to his body. Then, all at once. It's like everything comes rushing back in full force.

The first thing he feels is his head about to burst. It's not a welcome feeling but at least it _is_ one. The second thing is his vision coming back to him and it's like a fire lit behind his eyelids. It burns and makes him flinch awake, face scrunching and head worsening with each beat. The worlds too _shiny_ and **all at once** an _d ow-_ **_ow- oW- OW- O- o W_**

Somebody's shouting.

His kneejerk reaction is to tell them to _shut th **e fuCK up**_ -

But well. That gets overridden fairly quickly.

"-AT-"

"-A-KE-P"

"KA-RA- _U_ P!"

The world spins around and settles on his face.

It's Ace and Quinn. Once again. They're shouting and screaming and- _Oh wow. Are they calling for him?_

_"KATSURA, WAKE UP ALREADY!"_

He wakes up.

Quinn's voice pierces but Ace is the one that lands the final punch.

"I thought you were going to prove it to us..." Ace laments, voice a low growl that raises with each consonant. "That you're _strong_ enough to be a _pirate!_ "

He's upside down, hanging by his foot.

"Aa."

Well.

"I said that, didn't I?"

He wouldn't want to disappoint.

Katsura rears back a leg. "Not today, Beast!" He's not really focused too much on what he's doing. He's kicking and punching and slashing as hard as he can and as fast as he can- a frenzy of wild movements. It registers somewhere in the back of his head that the Beast has him in its teeth. That means- he's close to its face. That means- his fists are close by. And fists are good for punching. Faces are weak to punching!

"Wow, Sherlock! Put two-and-two together did'ja?!"

Oh, said that out loud, did he?

Katsura punched the Beast in the face.

It was made worse by his claws sinking into the flesh of its snout. The resulting scream had him blowing in the wind like a loose flag. Katsura held on for dear life.

"BroOO _OO **O**_ **A _A_** -?!"

"Screw off, you big ugly Beast!"

Ace is gripping the side of the ship and has such a strained grin on his face that Quinn almost thinks he's going to tear the corners of his mouth. They hit a wave and as tense as he is he doesn't move. Not even when Quinn stumbles and latches onto his shoulder for support.

"You okay?"

"He's getting tired."

"Huh?"

"Katsura."

Quinn blinks. Before taking the time to stare at Katsura whose managed to yank his hand out of the Beasts face and is flipping onto its head, claws sinking into the skull. "I…" It's hard to see, especially since the Beast is howling and bucking wildly to try and throw him off, but- Katsura's chest is heaving, his arms are shaking with exertion. And despite the determined look on his face he seems drained beyond belief. "Somehow I don't think he's noticed."

Ace grimaced. "He's getting sluggish. He's slower than before."

Quinn couldn't see that. But she chalked it up to differences in experience.

She squeezes his shoulder. "Are you worried?"

He snorts. "No way! He'll win, that's for sure!" Quinn decided to not mention the fact that he didn't relax even a smidge after saying so. The currents carried them further away from the fight, giving them a glimpse at Katsura getting knocked into the dark waves below.

The cold water rushed past.

Katsura let it.

He was tired. But he could push through.

The blood ran down his face and he could taste it in his mouth. He's sure the Beast could taste it too, a faint iron mixed with an inhuman fishiness. He ran a tongue over his lips. Gross. "Look at you, Beast…" He mumbled quietly, almost a sigh. "You're a dog gone wild. Can't you remember how you used to be?"

No answer. Of course not. There never was, not anymore. Any semblance of intelligence or calm or anything other than wild, predatory fury had gone without a trace.

"There's nothing left for us here," he hissed, sharp teeth baring, "can't you _see_ that?"

It was a lost cause. He knew that. In a way, some years ago, Katsura had wished he could be like the Beast. Give into the mindless fury and anger and hellbent rage, but then he saw the prison the Beast had trapped himself in. Unable to listen, refusing to accept help or a friendly hand, consumed by grief that he refused to let go of. And, even as he flipped himself over and gathered the ocean around himself, he couldn't help but feel a bit of _pity_.

"Why couldn't I have been enough?"

There was no answer except for the blood rushing in his ears. And Katsura let the ocean scream in response.

Quinn threw her hands up as water burst forth around the Beast, stumbling backwards and tripping onto her back. Ace didn't so much as twitch at the sight. At first, they couldn't make heads or tails out of what they were seeing. The Beast seemingly engulfed by water before-

Ace punched the air, grin splitting his face. "Go for it, Katsura!"

All Quinn got a glimpse of was light flashing on metal before the Beast was howling.

Katsura had thrown himself into the air, claws raised to strike. The Beasts neck laid bare below him.

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

_I'm sorry, Quagga…!_

He fell.

" ** _SLEIGHER!_** "

Executioner-style sea and blades tore through neck.

It was over.

"Guess we know who won."

Quinn shied away from the bloodied water as Katsura pulled himself into the ship with a weary laugh. Ace greeted him with an exuberant clap on the back. "I knew you'd pull through! Hey, Quinn! We got ourselves another crewmember!" The unbridled joy seeping off him was more than a little contagious.

"I can see that. Welcome aboard, Katsura."

He gave her a strange look.

Something passing through his eyes and over his face. It was a bit odd to look at. Especially considering that blood was still running out of his busted nose. And chest heaving as it was and energy spent you wouldn't think he'd have been able to think about much- not in his condition.

"You know," he started suddenly, making both of them stop and blink. A breathless laugh escaping. "I think I'm gonna take you up on your advice, Quinn!"

"My... advice?"

Ace shoots her a curious look.

"I'm gonna take it back. Starting right now. I'll make it my own." He smiled to himself. "It's my pleasure to be a part of your crew! Please, moving forward, call me Kat! It's what all my friends call me!"

 _Oh._ So that's what this was about.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but sure!"

"And as the newest addition to your crew, I want to start by keeping my promise." Katsura- no, _Kat_ announced. "It's time to get away from this island!"

Ace and Quinn cheered.

"Yay, we can continue our adventure!" Ace hurrahed.

Quinn's was a little… different. "Yay, no more drowning!"

Kat stuck both his hands in the water. Tiredness momentarily forgotten. The crew- that only Quinn knew would later be named the Spade Pirates-watched on as the ocean changed for them. The currents that once held them back pushing them forward and far away from the shores of Belle.

Quietly, too quiet for his companions to hear. Kat muttered his own, small cheer.

"Yay. To new horizons."


	9. Sixis: Separation and Desperation! A Crew Without Its Captain!

Ace sneezed.

Eyes creaking open in a few painful blinks, vision blurred by the sun glaring down from above. A groan escaped him and he licked his lips. They were dry and cracked and tasted weird. Ace sat up and stretched, breaking out into a yawn, back popping as he righted himself. Oh, ow. He pulled a face, eyes closed. He didn't need to open them to know that he was, most definitely, covered head to toe in sunburns. It felt like he'd fallen face first into a fire.

He let out a groggy grumble, "Damn… I must've fallen asleep…"

That hadn't happened in awhile.

He'd been getting used to not conking out randomly. It was weirder not having to deal with than he'd like to admit- and the medication he'd been taking to avoid sudden sleep attacks seemed to now make waking up harder than he thought it would be. His limbs and eyelids felt monstrously heavy and his body ached. Though that may have just been because of the sun.

"Hey, Quinn." Ace carefully rubbed a hand over his face, wincing at having to touch his burns, voice croaking in his throat. "You finish with my hat yet…?"

There was no answer.

He struggled to creak an eye open once again.

"...Quinn? ...Kat?"

He swallowed thickly, snapping fully awake. Ace ignored the pain of the light burning his eyes.

It was an… island. A sandy mound covered in rocks and a few mangly trees with wicked looking branches. On all sides, nothing but sea stretched out as far as the eye could see. Water lapped at his feet. A crab the size of his pinky's nail skittered across his leg.

"... _Oh_."

Ace breathed.

He was all alone.

...

...

She raised her hand up into the air, eyebrows knitted together as she stared at the… odd display. Mystified.

Neither of them seemed to notice anything weird about the picture. "Okay, on my count." Quinn managed to speak. Voice muffled by the needle she held between her teeth, careful to not tangle the orange thread. They both grunted out their confirmation, eyes narrowed determinedly at the horizon as she began the countdown, "Three…"

Ace tensed.

"Two…"

Katsura ran his tongue over his teeth.

"One…"

They were both raring to go and the air was filled with pent up energy. Bumbling nerves bouncing off the rocking waves. Dimly Quinn couldn't help but feel her heart excitedly beat in her chest and let herself get distracted from her project.

"GO!"

Ace and Kat took off like a shot. Racing past the boat and sending up waves before her hand had even dropped.

"...what a bunch of losers." Saying that, Quinn couldn't help the silly grin that spread over her face. "A swimming competition, _really_?" She chuckled and fondly watched them go for a few seconds longer before shaking her head and pushing the needle through the last little bit of the orange cowboy hat in her hands. It was almost fully repaired.

Ace let out a battle cry as Katsura began to pull ahead, arms stroking faster as he struggled to keep up. Katsura chanced a glance over his shoulder and cackled.

"I told you, Ace! No one can beat a fishman at his own game!"

"Like hell!"

He may have been a tad enthusiastic but Ace refused to lose.

How'd this all happen? Simple, really.

Katsura was bragging about how many fish he could chase down and Ace had laughed and said he could do better. It all went downhill from there until the fighting had pissed Quinn off enough that she suggested they do something else to get off each others back. Naturally that took the form of a swimming competition to prove who was better.

And Ace was winning it, damn it.

It didn't matter if Katsura was beginning to pull ahead.

Or that the currents were still strange and pulling him down. A bit of leftover strength from being near Belle still.

Katsura pushed forward. "Hey, get back here!" Ace… _may_ have grabbed his ankle to yank him back but- hey! Nobody said no grabbing! Ace was more than willing to pull underhanded tactics in order to win.

"Y-You-" Kat sputtered. "-asshole, that's cheating!"

"Chehaha! All's fair when you're a pirate!"

Now, in hindsight, probably a bad thing to say. Because while Kat's face had soured it also lit up with a wicked gleam as an idea struck him, taking the exclamation as an affirmation for what he was about to do next.

Quinn fumbled with the needle as an indignant screech went up. Unable to do anything but wince as the boat was upset by the lip of a wave and a loud slap of water-hitting-water erupted in the distance.

"Uh, everything… okay over there?"

It was followed by wild cackles and then a telltale string of curses of Kat biting his tongue so she, getting annoyed, kinda just assumed everything was cool. Quinn sighed. They were absolutely crazy. With a roll of her eyes she went back to Ace's hat.

Ace didn't know what hit him.

All of a sudden he was being flung head over heels and swallowing about a gallon of water and when the spinning finally subsided and he could get a breath of fresh air it was followed by a rather undignified shriek, not that he particularly cared what he sounded like but- _"I HOPE YOU CHOKE ON YOUR OWN TONGUE, KAT!"_

From the sounds of it his hope came true.

Ace snarled a wicked laugh, fist pumping in triumph. Well, a short lived triumph as-

"Ah, you jerk! You knocked me way back!" He was way off course and Katsura was pulling ahead despite his unfortunate habit. "Get back here…!" Ace went to swim after him.

Or, at least, he tried to.

"The hell?"

It felt like he was being tugged back and Ace blinked, he was going against the current. Except, it definitely wasn't as weak as before. It was unbelievably thick, like the ocean had been stirred-

"Oh, come on, Kat! That's just _rude!_ "

The asshole had made the ocean push back.

Ace would be way more angry if it wasn't for the fact that he was kinda, _totally_ impressed.

He had cool crewmates. Luffy would be jealous.

Still, Ace pushed against the waves. "I'll just have to catch up and still win!" See, his plan was to just push himself harder and force his way through the ocean hard enough and fast enough that he'd show up Kat and get all the praise. Well- as much as he could get considering the only other person was Quinn. But, unfortunately, this plan didn't seem like it was going to work out for him. And failure came pretty freakin' fast honestly.

'Cause Ace got tired.

And not the- oh, he's pushing himself too much and wearing himself out kind of tired. Nope. That would be all too simple.

It was a kind of familiar tired that made him struggle to focus and his head swim.

Well, _shit_.

He fell asleep.

...

...

Just one more stitch and she'd be done. Quinn felt herself relaxing as she hooked the thread under the line and prepared to pierce and tie the knot. While the project had been more than a little fun, even when attempting to do it without steady ground, it was reassuring to be done and she almost sagged in relief. Almost.

"QUINN-!"

"Gah! Holy _shit_ , dude, don't scare me like that-"

"IS ACE HERE?! Did he beat me somehow? I won, right?!" Katsura practically flung himself into the boat. Top half scrambling to pull the rest of himself up and over, inches away from her. Vibrating with such excitement that even sitting still he was rocking the boat. "Huh, did I? I did, didn't I? Please, tell me I did! Tell me, tell me, te-"

"Augh, stop!" Quinn shoves her foot in his face to push him back, rubbing her ears. God, he was loud. "Yeah, you did. As far as I can tell. Haven't seen Ace even come over the horizon yet." Which seemed a little weird but maybe he just couldn't keep up with a fishmans physiology.

Kat cheered. "Wow! I must've been going faster than I thought I was. I thought he'd catch up, especially after I threw him off course. He seemed pretty pissed about that!"

"I imagine he would be."

His enthusiasm wavered.

"Ah, do you think it was too much? He won't... _hate_ me now, will he?"

Quinn snorts, bemused.

"No. No, he won't hate you."

He's suddenly struck by the feeling that he's being silly and Kat blushes. "W-Well, okay, if you're sure…" He perks up. "I knew I'd win! Hell yeah!"

She watches him descend into cheers and rolls her eyes, going back to look at the horizon in order to wait for Ace to show up. Probably cursing up a storm or demanding a rematch. Katsura eventually settles down next to her and they both watch and wait. Giddily, after a minute or two pass them by, he says, "Wow, I didn't realize I was doing this well! We were neck and neck at the start."

A couple more minutes tick by and Quinn's starting to frown, her brow furrowing.

Longer than that, Kat is sweating and his palms are all clammy. Suddenly he doesn't look all that happy that he's won anymore, looks almost like he's going to be sick actually. Quinn eyes the water with a dangerous glint.

"Kat…"

He jumps. "Y-yes, Q-Quinn?"

"You said you threw him off course didn't you?"

The questions has him sweating buckets now.

"Y-Yeah! B-But he was right behind me, I swear! It certainly wasn't far enough for him to get lost!" _At least, not_ this _lost._

It only served to make the frown on her face deepen. Kat winced as Quinn used him for balance to stand up, hand squeezing his shoulder a little harder than what was necessary. There was still nothing on the horizon line, nothing out at sea that could possibly confirm a blip of Ace's existence.

"Kat."

"Y-Yes, ma'am!?"

"Backtrack."

"Huh?"

She clicked her tongue impatiently. "Follow your footsteps. Hurry up. And check below the surface as you do."

"B-But w-what about you-?"

"I can't swim, so I'll take point in case he comes back." Quinn eyed him when he didn't make a move. "Kat."

"Y-Yes?"

" _Go._ "

He went. And Quinn scowled at the sea as the red spot of hair dove under and was gone further than she could see in a second. It wasn't that she thought he was dead or in trouble-

He lived in the manga didn't he? She didn't think her presence would cause a sudden and unexpected death of a major character, especially not by sudden drowning. When they weren't even a devil fruit user yet, either!

-but a bad feeling still settled in the pit of her stomach. And, if on the off chance something _did_ happen, then, guiltily, she was the one who made them start the stupid competition in the first place.

Resolutely, Quinn sucked in a breath, and began to call.

"Ace! Where are you?!"

-0-

He opened his eyes to burning salt water and harsh twists of currents that felt more than a little like the underwater tumble he'd taken at Belle. And, just like Belle, there didn't seem to be anything but ocean in sight. At least, not from what he got the chance to see before he was being flipped over heel, slamming his head into the sand, and being dragged back up to shore.

"That's…" He coughed up spit and water. "Not going to work, is it?"

It seemed like he truly was stuck, huh.

The island is… well, its an island. But Ace is a bit hesitant to even make that leap. There's not a lot he can say about it, sitting cross legged in the sand, frown on his face.

There's blue scraps of what might've been clothes torn to shreds and strung across the trees, like someone's jacket had gotten caught and they had ripped it through in a hurry. There is a bunch of broken and burnt wood that might've once been a ship but had now been used as kindling. And then there's a bunch of sand that looked like it had been upset, maybe a few hours ago at most, the shape of a small boat being dragged up and then back into the ocean pressed into the ground.

Other than that. There's sand and then there's the most disappointing trees he's ever seen.

That's about it.

Dimly, something bubbled up in his chest that registered as frustration and he dug his nails into the skin of his arms. It didn't help to pout. Not when he couldn't see any glimpse of anything beyond his little blip of existence. But, for a moment, as Ace had never been really good with dealing with emotions, he let the anger steep.

_Kat was going to think he had won..._

The sudden thought has him choking on his tongue and snorting back a laugh and all at once the vexation drains from his shoulders and he buries his face in the crux of his arm. "Cheh-!" He flopped back. God, he was so stupid. Why would _that_ be what he thinks about?

With the sun above, it made it hard to keep his eyes open but easy to stay awake. The sunburns made every move a struggle and Ace was pretty sure there was more than a few handfuls of sand down his pants. Which, he was pointedly deciding to not think about, face scrunching more and more as the minutes ticked by.

He was being silly, wasn't he?

Er, well. Not that he wasn't before. He'd had the forethought that a swimming race with Kat was a bit… out there, but that hadn't really stuck out in his mind. Too focused on battling out a rivalry that wasn't really there to begin with. Which raised the question of why he'd been so gung ho about it, especially with Quinn sighing and shaking her head at them and telling them they were being ridiculous with that sort of look that reminded him of nobles and-

Lips chap and mouth dry, the taste of salt water thick on his tongue, making him click his teeth together in disgust and shiver.

Ace took one from both Quinn and Kat and slammed his teeth down on his bottom lip with such dismay that he couldn't even bring himself to react to the pain.

"Nope. No, no, no," he shook his head, "not doing that. Not making that comparison. The both of them are nothing like those two. Nuh-uh."

Okay. So, maybe- just maybe! He'd been missing his competitions with Luffy and started them up again with Kat. And maybe Quinn's whole disposition had reminded him of something or someone and had only egged him on further but that-!

That was neither here nor there.

"C'mon, they're their own people. Not similar at all." Which was, admittedly, quite true and probably the only reason that the uncomfortable feeling in his chest began to ease.

Ace tapped a finger against his knee, the rhythm easing his nerves, sucking in a deep breath.

He hoped they got here soon.

Being stuck on an island alone sucked.

...

...

It's night. It's been too long.

Her chest heaves and her voice is a scratchy mess that cracks with every word as her vocal cords strain against every attempt at speaking. "How are the waves looking?" She manages with a hard whisper. The evening air is making her shiver and she rubs at her arms to try to keep warm, water soaking through her leggings and shorts.

Kat didn't look that much better. Gills blue from the cold and eyes red rimmed and shifting around in a tired panic. "Nothing. I-I can't find anything."

Quinn rubs her eyes.

This is not good.

"...alright, alright. Let me just… think for a second. Take a… I don't know, take a breather." She turns and squeezes her hands over her face, unable to solidify a string of thoughts that didn't stop with an unsavory end. "He's got to be somewhere, otherwise there'd be a body."

It's probably not the best thing to say. As Kat gasps and clutches at his shirt, face paling such a drastic color that even the green of his skin begins to lose color. She can't really begin to feel guilty or remorseful for not censoring her words because not acknowledging the possibility would only cause more problems. Especially if Kat were to pick up a corpse.

The unfinished hat lays at her feet and Ace's boots are long forgotten at the back of the ship.

"...Nothing?"

She can't help but ask again.

He shoots her a look.

Ok, maybe that was in bad taste but still… "Truly nothing? No, what, fish? Sharks? Even currents?" She bounces her knee with the compulsive twitch of someone who has been stuck on one thing for far too long and was now getting antsy and borderline paranoid. "There's just… nothing to go off of. No evidence?" Her voice cracks at the end and she winces. The pain in her throat making her tongue heavy in her mouth.

Kat is wide eyed.

She must look a little crazed. Black eyes harsh and brows furrowed, hair sticking to her forehead and stuck up and wild in all different directions. Which, admittedly, was its usual state, but the dark light hitting her face was not helpful in making her look rational. It's probably not a good thing that her mind drifts to True Crime and Law and Order and other crime shows and she's grasping at straws at this point in a desperate attempt to try and figure out where they can go from here.

"There's just…" she gestures lamely, "nothing?"

Kat scowls and then opens his mouth and-

He freezes.

"N-No." She waits for him to continue. The sudden realization striking him like lightning and having him hop to his feet. "Currents! I d-didn't notice at first because I'm so used to seeing them but… but areas out here, away from Belle. They're not supposed to have currents like these, are they?"

Quinn doesn't know the answer to that for sure but it sounded like they were finally getting somewhere so she nodded.

"T-Then… does that mean that…" Kat's eyes shimmered with barely held hope. "That he could've just been dragged out and unable to swim back? O-Or gotten lost?"

She almost says don't get your hopes up, the twinge of negativity thick on her tongue, but she covers it with a cough that's only half real. Shoulders coming up to hug her neck, crossing her arms over her chest. "Y-Yes, let's hope. We'll have to follow back each of the currents until they end and see if Ace is anywhere nearby." The water looked a bit less like a grave now. The night a bit less endless. "Let's start by-"

Something hits her nose and Quinn blinks a couple times in surprise.

Kat holds up a hand. "Rain?" He grimaces, gills thrumming to life with sensitivity to the sudden drop in temperature. "The clouds are heavy but we should still have a few hours until it storms unless… oh no."

It sounded like their day was about to get worse. She was almost afraid to ask. "What is it now?"

"There's a downburst. It's pushing the rain over here."

"Okay, and that means?"

"We're about to be right below a thunderstorm."

Damn it.

Damn it, damn, damn, damn it _all-_ Quinn muttered a few choice curses under her breath. "How bad? Can we handle it?"

Kat hesitated. "We… could try to. It's not as bad as it could be but in a boat this small, we wouldn't be able to do much." Especially since half the ship is a thrown together amalgamation of boards, tarps, and old nails.

Quinn closes her eyes. The rain is already harsher than it was before and she can feel it drip down her forehead and across her chin. With the wind beginning to pick up her hair blew back from her face and the curses were repeated like a mantra to go alongside it. If they capsized she would drown for certain, Kat wouldn't be able to watch her every move and she didn't want him to have to. But if they left then Ace would be left out at sea, potentially fighting back against the storm. If they stayed, the boat could be damaged and then Kat would be the only one left. If they left, Ace could die.

"But Ace _won't_ die."

She's not really assuring Kat as much as she is assuring herself.

Quinn bounces on the balls of her feet and comes to a decision. "Turn the ship around. I want us on the edge of the storm, just outside of it. We're waiting until it ends to search for Ace but we're not leaving this area if we can help it."

Kat opens his mouth to argue but slams it shut. The conviction in her voice leaving no room for it and the upset in her eyes making his reluctance feel superfluous. It wasn't even his place to start a feud, not when the order was justifiably reasonable. Not when Ace is gone and the person he was meant to defer to was right in front of him. His teeth still twist around his tongue, a dull ache on the muscle, and fists knotting his shirt. It didn't mean he had to like it.

At least Quinn didn't seem like she liked it either.

It made the command easier to follow.

"He'll get tired, won't he?" Kat glances out. "Fighting back against the currents would be tough on anyone, especially full blooded humans."

Nevertheless, he drops his hand to the ocean surface and the boat is being spurned onwards. Away from the oncoming storm and towards the edge of the dark clouds they could only barely see in the dark of the night.

"True but…" She says it with such confidence that Kat is convinced but Quinn can't help but feel as if its almost misplaced. There wasn't much she'd seen from Ace that told her otherwise but her own intuition and her own knowledge gave her the sense that she's right. That she _has_ to be. "Ace is his own kind of Beast. A little ocean and time won't kill him!" God, she hopes she's right.

Quinn slouched, a gentle sigh breaking through her nervously bitten lips, and she pressed a hand to Kat's back as the rain began to let up on their heads. "Once we get to a place where we're out of immediate danger, take a rest."

He startled at her murmur.

"I can keep going! I'm just fi-"

She gave him a look. He didn't look fine. Not at all. In fact, he looked like he was about to keel over from fatigue. The hand turned sympathetic on his shoulder. He'd been in and out of the water with a vigorous resolve as Quinn stood and called out for Ace, pushing the boat where she could and carefully checking under the water as best she could. She felt useless by comparison. She was really starting to get irritated with her inability to swim.

"It'll make me feel better if our navigator was well rested and ready to look for Ace as soon as the air clears." She directed the comment at him with an assertive lilt to her tone. "Don't worry!" She forced a light-hearted smile onto her face. "I'll stay up just in case he finds us first."

Now, Kat really had to struggle with his reluctance.

But Quinn didn't look like she would welcome any sort of argument.

"I-I, w-well, um, okay…"

Quinn let the smile drop as soon as Kat curled up on his side, facing away from her, slumping against the side of the ship into an unceremonious heap. Head in her hands. She didn't think she was going to be able to sleep tonight anyways. Distress evident in every crease on her face. What a way to start her so-called adventure.

She dragged her heads over her eyes, fingers twitching with a sudden urgent need to do something, wrists burning under the weight of the need.

"Shit…" she took a deep shuddering breath, struggling to keep quiet.

A night to herself suddenly felt like a bad idea.

Kat used his palms as a pillow, cuddling his claws to his chest in the hope they would offer some sort of comfort. Luckily enough, it did seem to allow him to quiet his mind for the time being. Enough that his already heavy eyes could begin to close with a restless sleep made worse with the sound of Quinn staring out at the sea with a loud apprehension. A firm belief came to him that caused a sickening churn in his stomach.

_This was all his fault._

...

...

Okay, so maybe it was going to take his crew a bit longer than he first thought. Not that big of a deal. Ace could wait a bit longer. Admittedly, he wasn't the most patient of people but this is fine. They probably just got lost or caught up in the storm that was beginning to brew above his head.

Which, he'll honestly say, he was semi-worried about. Especially with the thunder rumbling in the distance and the streaks of lighting searing itself into his eyeballs.

Not about himself, mind you, more so for them.

Wasn't it supposed to be super bad to be out on the water when there was lightning?

"Gr. I don't know this stuff!" This is what he got a navigator for in the first place. Urgh, but he'd bet Quinn would know. She seemed to know a lot about random things. But she wasn't here either to ask! "C'mon, guys… what's taking you so long?"

There wasn't anything for him to do here. Absolutely nothing. There were rocks, stones, and sticks strewn about as if someone had been there before him but, as far as Ace could tell, they had gotten off the island. Which he was a _bit_ upset about. At least, if they were still here, he'd have someone to talk to and make friends with. He didn't like being alone.

But, to be fair, he didn't think he'd want to meet himself either.

"I mean, I am kind of an asshole…" Totally an asshole. Did he really just wish for someone to be stranded with him?

He wondered what they were like; he wondered if he would've asked them to join his crew and if they would have agreed to it; he wondered if they would get along with Quinn and Kat; wondered if they would've figured out his heritage and accepted it; and then he stopped wondering because he realized that it really didn't matter and he was just running with the first thoughts that came to him.

...He wondered if Quinn would figure it out.

Ace swallowed thickly.

He really, _really_ wanted to stop wondering right about now.

It's the hunger that finally breaks the chain and it's probably the first time that Ace welcomes the emptiness in his stomach with a hint of relief. Unfortunately, that relief is short lived as Ace takes a moment to stare out over his little mound of sand and disappointment fills his being. "I forgot…" There was absolutely nothing that could curb his appetite.

Well, he could eat rocks and sand but he didn't think that would go over nicely and he wasn't quite starving just yet.

He laid back down.

At least the cloud coverage kept him from getting even worse sunburns, a steady drip of rain starting to pour over him. And at minimum if he got thirsty all he had to do was open his mouth and enjoy the rainfall.

Ace let himself drift off to the rhythm of his stomach growling.

He hoped that by the time he woke up Quinn would be placing his hat on his head and Kat would be showing off all the fish he caught. That would certainly be a good thing to wake up to. He let a smile curve over his face. Yeah, he wouldn't mind waking up to hearing them calling his name.

...

...

The second day is marked by an unnatural quiet.

There is nothing but light mist and an absence of color.

Quinn's lack of energy is refueled with a forced attitude of chipperness, or as chipper as she physically can be; and, instead of sagging on her feet, she keeps her legs and back ramrod straight. The tiredness something she was more than a little familiar with and able to push to the back of her mind.

"...some coffee would be nice…"

She rubbed a finger over the brim of Ace's hat, feeling the material and the thread with a thoughtful motion.

"What?"

She jumped. "A-Ah, nothing. Nothing. Sorry, I'm just talking to myself." Kat's stare followed her shaking her head. "Any luck?"

He recoiled at the question. A low whine breaking through his lips and tears beginning to prick his eyes, Quinn was momentarily taken aback by the reaction, as he whipped around, forearm coming up to wipe at his face furiously. "Nn. N-No." She stood awkwardly as his shoulders shuddered with what might've been crying. Oh, fu- he hiccupped. Definitely crying.

"Um."

Quinn raised a hand lamely, as if she was about to rest it on his shoulder and comfort him. Unfortunately, her nervousness got the better of her and she ended up dropping it back down to her side in failure. She wasn't good at handling her _own_ emotions, she didn't think she was going to be any good at handling others either.

"...Why don't we move onto the next set of currents?" She tried, a clumsy looking smile on her face that Kat thankfully didn't turn around and see. She doesn't even sound good. Voice all but dead at this point, every single word a violent struggle.

Kat sucks in his breath loudly, face scrunched together in order to try and keep himself together.

"Alright, okay. Yeah, I can do that."

Quinn watches him dive over the edge of the ship again and disappear beneath the surface. The storm hadn't ended until late into the morning and the wind was still frost bitingly cold with a light shower of rain pitter pattering against the ocean surface and the wood of the ship.

She sighed.

It still felt too quiet. Too empty.

"Ace, why don't you throw us a bone and show yourself already?"

She turned his hat over in her hands. The day passed slowly and there was no reward for their efforts.

When evening came and it got too hard to see Kat pulled himself into the boat with arms shaking, a shivering mess of red rimmed eyes and cold skin, he found Quinn with her legs half bent in front of her. Ace's hat sitting in her lap and a tangle of thread in her hands. They didn't say anything to each other. Quinn just bobbing her head sadly as Kat shook his head and buried himself next to her.

The night was going to be cold.

She draped her jacket over his wet and shaking shoulders without a word. Not knowing what she could possibly say to help other than a quiet, almost silent whisper: "We'll try again tomorrow. If nothing else, we will find him." There's blood dripping from her dry and cracked lips now and, if Kat had been paying more attention in the span of his exhausted delirium, he would have noticed the tear tracks that broke through the speckles of blood smeared across the lower half of her face.

"One more current. It'll only take one more current."

She only hoped she would be right.

...

...

It was easy to miss the endearing presence of Luffy.

The tactile nature of his brother was something that, at first, was hard to get used to but when Ace had finally let himself fall into it- _boy_ , did he fall. It felt like the end of summer. When the seasons changed and the leaves began to fall and the warmth of the sun just wasn't as bright as it had been before. A soft memory in winter days that kept you spurning onto the next year- to the next day. Ace had gotten used to the rubbery hugs and shouts of praise and loud laughter that the sudden absence was unbearable.

He'd never admit how hard it was to set sail. How hard it was to not look back.

(How he failed that attempt even now. Facing the direction like a desperate compass that could only assume the way back home.)

It was jarring.

And more than a little unsettling.

Did he regret it? No way in hell. This was his dream, their dream- but… but did he miss it all the same?

Yes. Yes, he did.

It was just a fact of life, Ace mused not for the first time. Everybody left home eventually.

It was lonely.

And Ace hadn't had to deal with his own thoughts like this in a long, long time. Didn't have the time to. Too busy fighting off beasts, protecting bumbling kid brothers, and getting stronger.

The sun bearing down on him, curling his toes in unsavory ways, and stomach aching in a nauseous dance of hunger; Ace had a lot of time on his hands and plenty need to distract himself. Even if it meant settling in the darker recesses of his thoughts.

He was lonely.

(He wanted to turn and see his brothers face like he used to be able to. Both of them.)

A hand crawled up his arm and fingernails dug into the skin with an almost manic fervor. The crossed out S was clenched tightly under palm and something in his stomach unwound.

God, Ace was so fucking _lonely_.

It was a wonderful thing that he'd found crewmates so quickly. It wasn't as if the void had been filled, no that wasn't happening and probably never would, but a once empty space had been…

Touched.

Just enough that the ache in his heart was curbed and the touches he was starved for began again.

Okay, maybe that wasn't exactly true. Ace snorted almost as soon as he finished the thought. It wasn't as if Quinn was dishing out hugs and good words, instead serving them up like they were money. That is to say, greedily. And Kat- admittedly, he hadn't known him as long, but he seemed to jump with just about every small movement. Biting his tongue the next. And Ace didn't really know what to do about that one.

It was different. In a way that he thinks he could get used to.

Every fresh touch or pat or even punch in the arm was like a new adventure folding out before him. A strange one that wasn't something he thought he'd find exciting- it was more Luffy's territory. Then again he supposed his brother had to rub off on him somewhere.

It was discovering new people, new… _friends._ The closest thing Ace had had to a friend was Sabo and that was a terrifying thing to think about or even compare and-

He wrestled it down.

Luffy was the one who could figure out what made a person tick and decide whether to set them off or keep the timer runnin'. Luffy was the one who chased people down and once they were in his clutches he'd never let go. Luffy was the one who made friends and left Ace watching from behind with an, only slightly jealous, wonderment.

This was uncharted territory. Especially for him. And, he can't believe he's even thinking this, but Ace could stand to try to be a bit more like Luffy.

It sucked that he's only really experienced in setting people off or chasing them away.

...At least, being alone like this, with no food and no water, and just the sun above to keep him company, was not the result of his own failure.

Maybe from his own stupidity but, really, he was more inclined to feel just unlucky.

(Huh, so did that make it Quinn's fault or…?)

Seriously, why did the medication have to completely fail then of all times?! That's such bullshit. Whatever, it made his stomach cramp anyways and made him tired to the point of excessiveness and he was pretty sure he was out of it all anyways. Good riddance.

Ace didn't have a lot of experience with medicine anyway.

He'd maybe had painkillers and things shoved down his throat as a little kid in the rare times that a fever had sprung from an infected, broken arm or when Dadan or one of the other bandits thought he was being stubborn and forced him to take it. That said, the longest he'd had to take medicine before was maybe a week. Not for… a full month? Yeah, he thinks that's how long its been.

The only reason he decided to try out anything to stop his narcolepsy in the first place was because he didn't want to fall asleep when he was recruiting his first crewmates. Didn't want to make a bad impression, like how Makino had told him not to.

Ace snorted.

Yeah, that would've gone down well in front of Quinn and Garp.

"Gyeh-!"

A shiver ran up his spine and his eyes snapped open.

"Oh, fu…" If he _had_ fallen asleep while running with Quinn then Garp would've surely caught up to him and he'd be stuck on a Marine ship, stuck and-

Ace slapped his cheeks to bring himself out of his slight doze. "Ahg, nightmare…!"

That was something so terrifying that he never wanted to think about it again. Ace shook his head violently. It was just too horrible to even try comprehending and he, for one, was _not_ going to venture down that rabbit hole.

Thankfully- er, well as thankful as he could be considering what it was that had him rolling onto his side and groaning in pain- his stomach cramped uncomfortably in hunger causing him to run his tongue over his dry mouth. There had to be food somewhere on this little patch of land and he'd be damned if he didn't tear through it searching for even a nibble. That other person had to have eaten something, right? They survived long enough for rescue after all!

And he only had to wait for Quinn and Kat to find him. He didn't think it'd be much longer now anyways.

...

...

The days have been oddly quiet. Blending into the next with heat, sweat, and sun, and the pull of the waves getting harsher and harsher with the longer they stayed in the area.

It's the third day.

Nothing has changed.

Quinn threads the needle with quiet precision.

Whatever form of concentration that has fallen over her gets broken when the boat seems to hiccup and shake. She glances to the side at Katsura. His eyes are rimmed with red, tears and snot stream down his face, and the boats shaking stumbles over itself with every breath he tries to swallow.

Quinn shifts uncomfortably in her seat, not knowing what to do.

"This… is all my fault."

"No it's not."

It didn't seem like he believed her.

But Quinn let herself breathe a sigh of relief as he scrubs a hand over his face. She manages a smile of reassurance in between her discomfort.

The day was moving at a snail's pace and she didn't know whether or not to be thankful. The sun still yet to reach its peak and the cold chill of morning helping to steady her hands as she worked. Her spool of thread clinking against the sides of the boat, every lap of water sending it rolling into a tizzy. For a long moment, Katsura stared at her, not knowing what to say either. Teary eyes jumping from hat to face and brow creasing with every second that ticked.

He wiped his nose against the back of his arm. "Does… Does it really take that long to fix a hat?"

Quinn's reassuring smile falters and she breaks out in a nervous sweat, shoulders hunching and head ducking in a lame attempt to hide behind her hair. It fails. Only leaving her with hair in her mouth and her nose closer to the needle than it probably should be. "...n-no."

"Then why?"

She bites her lip.

And opens her mouth.

Then closes it.

It's hard to form the words. Or at least put them in an order where they make any legible sense.

"Because…"

She looks down at Ace's hat.

"Because… um…"

It should have been finished forever ago. Restored to its previous self with only a scar of thread peeking through if you squinted, the simple design along its brim pulled back into place with not a string out of place; good as new. Well. It's come a long way since then. Quinn almost feels guilty, but can't bring herself to really acknowledge it. The design has been upgraded. The once simple triangles that lined it-

(A detail that was never drawn. She wondered how many other details she didn't know about.)

-were pulled off before she could input the final seam. Instead, they had been replaced by a detailed embroidery of equally orange thread. Flames hung where they should have been, elegant waves that drew the eye just enough to not be busy. She had to say it was some of her best work. Odd. Especially considering the way the needle seemed to shake in her hands now that they weren't moving.

Quinn sucked in a breath through her nose.

Even stopping for just this one moment has her itching to do something and her heart beating sickeningly slow in her chest. To stop it, she slams her nails into her palms, not caring if they bled or not.

"I like being able to do things with my hands, that's all."

Even as she says it, voice small, it's an obvious lie. Katsura can tell.

She wipes her hand across her legs. If they were bleeding you wouldn't be able to tell. Red blending into the dark fabric that covers her legs.

She starts to embroider again.

"...'Cause it's something I can do to help out."

They've settled uncomfortably next to each other. The air tense and palpable with something that Quinn can't label and Katsura doesn't want to.

"I just…" She sighs. "There's not a lot I can…"

She shuts her mouth, lips pressing into a thin line.

A coin toss? Yeah, right. She'd already tried that multiple times while Kat was off out of sight and it didn't provide anything. A luck mark wiped across her or Kat's arm didn't seem to prove useful either. Whoever said devil fruits were good were liars. She- She couldn't even swim to see below the surface. There was just nothing but standing in the middle of the boat, shouting her head off, that she could do.

Katsura wipes a thumb over his eyes. "But…" He shifted nervously. "...isn't extending the process counterproductive?"

She immediately, and quite visibly, sours and its more than likely that if it wasn't for the fact that Kat noticed and quickly tried to retract his question she would have snapped at him. Instead, bitterly, she says, "So long as I'm working…"

It comes out much softer and too self pitying compared to how it was meant to sound.

"I'm not a waste of space, right?"

Kat doesn't really know how to react to that so he settles on a soft, " _Oh_ …"

And now she just wants to scream. Biting her lip and ducking away. "I- nevermind, forget I said anything." Quinn stood up to hide her red face, embarrassment and horror making her _burn_. "I didn't mean to make it sound like that. I-I didn't mean to make it sound like anything. We… We should start looking again."

The attempt to change the subject was poor and obvious and wouldn't have normally worked, at all. Fortunately, Kat didn't care how obvious it was. Wanting a subject change as much as she did.

"I… We haven't found anything."

Just maybe not back to this.

"...I know. Sorry." Quinn clenched the hat in her hands. "I haven't exactly been helpful, have I?"

He tugged the jacket around him tighter. "N-No, you've… been great actually." He thinks he would've already fallen apart at this point if she wasn't always there. He's not good with keeping himself calm.

Also, her jacket had likely kept him from freezing to death during the night so.

Kat felt a shiver run up his spine, completely unbidden, and snuggled into the jacket more. It wasn't thick by any means and it smelled like stale sweat and moldy cotton but he wasn't even close to complaining. Trying to get what little warmth he could before he had to dive back into the water and the stress got unbearable. Again.

Quinn felt bad watching him. She'd be forcing him back into the water to search where she could not. Brutally useless and only able to order him to do her bidding.

"...Don't worry, man. We'll figure this out."

Or, she will. She'll have to. She doesn't want to see Kat come out of the water again with anxiety seeping off him in waves anymore.

"Just… the currents. There's still so many we haven't gotten the chance to look at. Maybe- Maybe you'll find something. Anything. Just come back and tell me, and we can look together. Spread out further if you have to."

He nods reluctantly. "O-Okay, okay. Y-Yeah. I'll go."

"Oh, and Kat."

The least she could do was let him know that he wasn't useless like she was.

"You're doing good. Be safe."

...

...

He thinks he's going to be sick. Sweat dripping off his brow and mouth drier than he thought was possible, he felt entirely hollow. Dirt and a bit of blood was smeared across his face from when he took a particularly (clumsy, shut up) nasty fall and lost his footing on some sharp rocks, scraping his forehead.

Who was he kidding?

It was late into the third day, the sun was beginning to lower and the moon was already up. And nowhere. _Nowhere_. Were Quinn and Kat. What was he thinking? Ace let out another groan as the incessant pain in his torso suddenly increased exponentially as he stared out at the empty horizon. "There's no way they would come looking for me…"

Ace needed to stop lying to himself about people.

They'd all just disappear on him sooner or later. In this case, much, much sooner than he'd ever comprehend. And for seemingly no reason.

He squeezed the palm of his hands to his eyes.

There was no reason to think that anyone ever was going to want to save him.

He didn't want to think about it. A part of him wanted to believe they were searching, another was vicious and told him that they took off at the first chance they saw.

He couldn't even blame them. They were them after and he was… He was Ace.

He wouldn't have stuck around to help himself if he was in the same position and had the opportunity to leave.

Ace was just exhausted. Every single move and thought was sluggish and required too much strength to make moving worth it. And, if he stayed still, the steady ache and emptiness in his stomach eased. If only a little. Unfortunately, he forced himself up to his feet, sluggishness making him feel as if he was treading through a swamp where he couldn't hope to see the other end. Forcing himself to wander along the edge of his island patch, careful on the rocks so he didn't slip and fall again in his delirius state, and ignoring the way his lack of energy screamed at him.

"1… 2… 3… 4…"

While exercising burned calories that he really didn't have, it was the only thing that shut his head up and kept him sane. The repetitive actions of running, jumping, stretching, sit ups, and push ups soothing his cramping muscles and letting him take deep, borderline meditative breaths.

He wondered what Sabo would do. He was always smarter than him. Coming up with plans and ingenious ideas fueled by an imaginative and creative mind while all Ace could think to do was execute and attack.

He sometimes felt caught between his two brothers. Even if he couldn't compare to one of them anymore. It still felt like life was laughing in his face when he failed at something he knew Sabo could have figured it out, as intelligent as he was. Or how Luffy would have been dumb and creative enough to defy the impossible and get out of anything he got himself into.

Sabo would have the mind to create smoke signals or a boat out of what little scraps he had or just figure out how and when was best to swim against the tide.

Luffy would've rocketed out to sea and somehow been lucky enough to land in the arms of relative security.

Ace would… Sit here and wallow. Ideas that formed were either something he lacked the means to accomplish by himself, caught between impossible and even more unlikely, or half-baked concepts that he couldn't take two steps further because he simply couldn't think of how.

"...32… 33… 34…"

He wondered what Quinn would do. Probably about the same as him, if not worse, and that made him feel a little bit better about it. A devil fruit that was not always conducive of definitive results was not exactly helpful… especially when the person couldn't help themselves.

Kat though. Kat he didn't even have to think about. He would've been able to straight up swim away.

Heh. At least he knew who would've won that swimming competition now.

"67… 68…"

Maybe if he just tried really, really, really hard he'd be able to power through the waves.

Ah, wait, he already tried that.

Ace hung his head, and when he was at full strength too.

"105… 106-!"

He paid for his lack of attention when his toe got hooked on the edge of a sharp rock, sending him stumbling face first into the sand and sending up dust and dirt.

"Mnf, mn, rrrgh."

Ace groaned against the sand, rolling over, wiping his face with his hand and squeezing his eyes shut.

God, he was hungry. He was half tempted to just start eating rocks. There wasn't even any bugs or worms or things. (Look, he was basically a toddler in a forest and he didn't exactly grow up knowing better. He wouldn't recommend but hey. It's still good and, ya know, edible.) And the little crabs that scuttled in the sand were so tiny that he struggled to pick them up without immediately crushing them, and there certainly weren't enough that made it worth the energy it would take to expend to feel like he ate even a bitefull.

He punched the sand with the back of his fist. Shaking his head and sitting up, drawing his legs up to his chest in the process before having to stop short.

"...Hm?"

His foot collided with something soft and squishy.

He hoped it wasn't what he thought it was and when he opened his eyes he found that it certainly wasn't.

Something orange and bright peaked out from the sand that he had knocked against, a weird shape that he couldn't make out at first lying beneath. The sun seemed to hit it and bring forth a whole new set of colors, the orange brimming with flickering yellows, reds, and pinks that had him squinting his eyes.

Ace brushed aside the sand.

"Is that…"

Now, as hungry as he was, and how he was most assuredly not thinking straight, Ace didn't register a lot of details. Like the swirls or the flame pattern or the curly, weird stem. Maybe if he had been healthy and not suffering from possible heat stroke he would have realized upon first glance that he was holding a Devil Fruit and not some ordinary, weird apple. Maybe he would've at least thought twice about eating it and getting stuck with some unknown power.

"FOOOOD?!"

But Ace was hungry so he really didn't give two shits about sticking it in his mouth, even despite sand crunching in between his teeth as well.

If there was anything in his stomach he might've thrown up.

Reduced to gagging and dry heaving as soon as he swallowed and the most disgustingly, foul taste hit him like an off ramp train. Completely unexpected but could've been prevented if necessary measures had been taken. Like, you know, not eating freaky fruit off the ground.

"That's the worst…"

Ace couldn't even bring himself to care about the flavor. Already taking two more disgusting bites in an attempt to just fill his stomach. As soon as he finished the horrible meal, Ace settled back into his seat and sighed a relief at his cramping but finally acknowledged hunger.

Maybe things were starting to look up after all.

Of course, that's when he lit himself on fire.

" _AAAAAAA_ -!"

...

...

Kat had found something.

It didn't amount to much at first. It wasn't land or rock or anything of the sort. Just a simple temperature shift from cold to warm that made him wonder if he just swam through a spot of fish urine. In which case, gross. Then he felt it again and had to stop. Frown on his face and tired thoughts swirling. It was far too abrupt to be normal. And if he stayed still it was almost like there had been nothing at all. Gone with a twist and leaving goosebumps breaking out over his skin.

Before coming back again.

"Currents…?" He had to question.

It felt like it.

Another system he had yet to check.

Which was odd, he was certain they'd been over this way yesterday. He didn't think they'd traveled along this one though.

The temperature changed. A shiver ran up his spine.

Huh. With how cold the storm had made the water he doubted he would've noticed it, especially with how cold his own temperature was and-

His frown lightened a tiny bit.

It wasn't much. But it was something to go off of. Something new, at the very least.

Following Quinn's instruction he took stock of the location so he could find the exact point again and bolted back to the boat. The hope that he did still have was stomped on and shriveling but Kat firmly didn't think more on it. Not wanting to raise them.

He doubted it would be any different.

He came to the edge of the boat gently, treading water and careful to make his presence known. Lest he scare her like he had the first time. "Oy, Quinn…" She clearly hadn't noticed him, even with him going out of his way not to make her jump, flinching and shaking off the sudden fright. "I found another current. I think we missed it 'cause of the storm. Do… do you want to try it out?"

"It can't hurt."

Transporting them to the proper location was the easy part. All Kat had to do was force the water to act as a sort of pathway for the ship, look for the area he had marked off, and locate the specific current that he'd found before. It took a few minutes at most, with Quinn half thrown over the side of the ship looking along the horizon and the waves for anything out of place while he was focused on accomplishing his task.

It both helped and didn't that neither spoke.

The silence dragged on. Almost companionable.

Between the glances out at sea and the calls that failed to get a response Quinn dragged her gaze over Kat. The redhead was a wound up spring, pulled taunt, waiting to snap at a moments notice. The waves dragged him down for a long moment and, when he came back up, the breath he sucked in was frustrated and filled with anger. If something pushed his buttons she was pretty sure he'd go ballistic- and if she said something she was also sure that it'd make things worse before it made them better but…

"You know," she begins to say reluctantly.

Kat gives her wide, desperate eyes over his shoulder. A shadow of guilt fell over her and Quinn struggled not to bite her lip as Kat slammed his teeth onto his own as she spoke.

"He has a little brother."

He jerks, as if stung.

The guilt on his face seemingly doubles.

Quinn made sure to keep her expression cool, even as her insides festered, distressed that she didn't have another way to speak. Even ordering her words differently may help better but Quinn had never thought of herself as especially well-spoken, not in this aspect.

-but she has to say something and she's already in this deep.

"If I'm remembering right, I think you're around the same age actually." Exactly the same age, give or take a few inconsequential months if her guess on Kat was correct, the teenager was definitely on the low end of the years. A sophomore at the oldest. "Anyways…"

She grimaced as he drooped, the horrified look crossing his face making her feel much worse than anything he could possibly say to her. She coughed into her fist awkwardly.

"A-Anyways, Ace talks the world of him. I- When I first ended up on the crew I had absolutely no clue what to talk about. I've never really, um, really thought about the possibility of becoming a pirate." Quinn gives a little laugh, unable to help herself, despite not finding anything about the situation humorous. "And then I got Ace talking about his little baby brother and, my god, he would not shut up. He talked until his voice was hoarse and he couldn't say another word."

Kat covers his face.

Quinn tries not to swallow her tongue, ball in her throat, and surprises herself with the genuine fondness in her own voice.

"Oh, yeah?"

When he pipes up his voice cracks, high pitched and watery, and she can tell he's failed at fighting back tears. She doesn't know whether to feel thankful that he struggles to keep his voice straight as well. Instead, she just feels bad. Because, damn it-! She's supposed to be helping.

"Yeah." Her own voice almost cracks, she swallows it back down. "His name's Luffy. He… He sounds like a real knucklehead and don't tell Ace I said this, because I'm sure he'd have my head even if he agrees with me, but- um- he doesn't sound too bright."

"Really?"

"Really, _really._ Apparently, though-" And while Ace had not directly told her this, he hinted at it through the stories he'd told and Quinn had a bit of a cheat sheet to the boy. "Apparently he's a very good judge of character."

Kat sucks in another breath. This one is still frustrated and angry but it's less so. More… tired and depressed. Quinn meets the bags under his eyes with her own as he drags his hands over his abnormally pale face. They haven't eaten much in the time that's gone by, haven't slept much either and, if they did, it wasn't well, and, in the case of Quinn, was virtually none at all.

"...Why are you telling me this?"

"Cause." It's hardly an answer and she knows it. Trying to pull the right words together. She's not sure if she's successful. "I mean, I may not have known you for long at all, but I don't think anybody would blame you for this, Kat. Especially not him, this… isn't your fault."

Quinn felt her chin tremble, shoulders rising, and eyes prickling. "Besides, we both know it's mi-"

Of course, that's when fire lit up the horizon.

" _AAAAAAA_ -!"

She jerked. Blinking in surprise and subsequently the moisture out of her eyes, clutching Ace's hat to her chest until her knuckles turned as white as bone. "Was that…?" Ace.

Quinn and Kat shared a wide eyed look. The scream failed to stop. And now that her heart was hammering in her chest and the thump of blood in her ears made it hard to hear she was- she wasn't quite believing that she was hearing correctly. But, even if they were wrong, Quinn watched the fire creep higher and higher into the air with blistering heat that turned the water orange, she knew what those flames meant.

The Mera Mera no mi- the Flame Flame Fruit, Model: Logia.

"Kat. It's-"

He failed to respond. And she saw that he was frozen.

"Kat!" She shouted, snapping the boy out of his shell shocked daze, a hopeful grin blooming across his face as he came out of whatever reverie had hit him. "Let's go! Follow the scream!"

He didn't need to be told twice.

Almost taking off by himself before remembering Quinn wouldn't be able to follow as fast and without damaging the ship in the currents. Reaching out to pull the water and shooting them off at an inhuman speed that had Quinn gasping and almost falling out.

Even at the incredible speed it took longer than she hoped for them to catch sight of the base of the flames and, when they did, it was a speck to their vision. Farther off than they had been searching but close enough that she was disappointed that they hadn't gotten a hint of it earlier.

The flames were brilliant, bright, and as they grew closer, hot and untamed.

And Ace was furiously trying to pat them out, scream growing more and more desperate as he hadn't realized how they failed to hurt him. Too caught up in the orange in the absence of his arm.

Quinn buried her face in his hat to keep her blinding smile hidden.

"...you idiot…"

Keeping the hat close even as Kat also began screaming and gathered water, spraying Ace with enough that the flames immediately cut out and smoke began to stream up into the sky, leaving everything silent until Kat burst into tears and rushed up to tackle the hatless cowboy into the sand.

"Wha-?"

"ACC _CCE_ EEE, YOU'RE OKAYYY!"

...

...

Unlike Kat, Quinn didn't rush to greet Ace. Even as the redhead laughed and laughed, refusing to let go even as Ace struggled to stand up, picking the ravenette up around his middle and swinging him around like a limp doll in his ensuing joy. She didn't make a move to stop him either. Watching the tension seep out of both their shoulders and the delightful few seconds of sheer coreshaken shock on Ace's face turn into a grin that hurts his cheeks and threatens to tear his face in half just from the force behind it.

She watched the scene for a few seconds before shaking her head and turning away, kneeling down in the bottom of the ship and putting Ace's hat down in front of her.

She had a project that she could finally complete.

Placing a shaky finger over the last of the thread and carefully tying a small but study knot on the underside of the brim. Using the needle to snap the string so nothing would hang and swiping a hand along the hat, making sure everything was perfect and in order. The flames felt like they had come at the right time, both real and embroidered, and she gave a soft sigh of relief as her work was finally finished.

"Hey, Quinn."

She looked up when she noticed the sounds of Ace approaching the ship, bare feet kicking up the sand beneath his feet, Kat hanging off his shoulder and wiping at his face in a furious and pathetic attempt at hiding his happy tears and sobs. Ace smiled at her.

He was shirtless, sunburnt, greasy, and looked worse than she'd even seen him before.

He also looked anxious and nervous.

Quinn had to fight her smile in a brutal match that she was certain she lost.

Ace rubbed the back of his neck, careful to not pat his burns. "I… I didn't know if you'd want to see me-?!"

She isn't paying attention to what he's saying. Otherwise she would have questioned it. Instead, she finally one hundred percent lost her battle with her smile, and pressed his cowboy hat into his face so he wouldn't see the relief pool in her eyes or the amount of tension she had been holding in her body be released.

A soft, silly grin spreading across her face: "It's good to have you back, Captain."

And, because of his hat, neither did she see Ace in a similar state. Taking a moment to gape in surprise at the move and the almost sweet tone of voice. His smile a bit more weepy and his shoulders a bit more heavy before his cheeks were straining against his teeth and he was pulling his hat down as far as it would go on his head, trying and failing to cover the strength of his smile.

"Yeah…" He blinked away the slight moisture in his eyes. "It's… good to be back."

While he had burst into fire just a few minutes ago, for reasons that he was only slowly beginning to piece together, he didn't want to leave this moment for even a second. He didn't want to think and get stuck in his own head again. Peeking out from under his hat's brim at his crew.

They looked bad, if not worse than he did, but he couldn't help but think they were some of the most stunning people he had ever seen.

-0-

The water was beautiful.

The reflection of the ship against the waves had tears springing to his eyes. The wind against his face, fresh, and failing to churn up sand and grit to blind him was more than he can put into words. The pen quivered in his fingers as he failed to put his thoughts on the page.

The only sentence he could manage, a resounding punch to the gut every time he read it.

Easing his shoulders and filling him with joy.

_I am free._

And he was so happy because it was finally true.

That little patch of land, Sixis, as he had learned, was nothing but an unsuspecting trap for sailors, pirates, and treasure hunters. A fake map promising treasure but leaving victims stranded and doomed to die due to the horrible currents coming off of a nearby island called Belle. Small boats, like the rowboat he'd been using up until this point, would be and had been crushed. Nothing but shards of shredded wood.

The weeks of starvation and staring out at sea with no hope of rescue were over once and for all. And even though his ribs still poked through his skin and his stomach was all but nonexistent he'd never felt fuller.

The man couldn't stop the radiant thrill from seeping out of his rapture.

He had all but given up hope when rescue came. And he had sobbed with snot and screams in his savior's arms despite the man's obvious discomfort. Taken aboard a ship that he hadn't expected, especially when he saw the flag raised on it, but he would never forsake his rescuers past if they didn't do so for him.

The blonde chef and first mate dressed in red, the short doctor with a hunched back, the other crew members he hadn't gotten the chance to meet, and the Captain that was the first to greet him.

"Okay. You're a doctor so you should know how this works."

He's too weak to catch the bottles that are tossed at his chest and so they land in his lap.

It's not exactly the bedside manner he expected but he's not surprised, can't even bring himself to be offended. He shakily lifts up the bottle to his face and can't stop the wide grin from cracking his burnt and peeled lips. Nutrients supplements. Made to help him get back on his feet without causing him to vomit food up if he accidentally ate more than he could handle. "Of course. Thank you." His words aren't enough to convey the gratitude he feels.

The doctor snorts. "Just remember to pay me for my services, got it? I put price tags on everything already."

He figured as much. Nothing in life was ever truly free after all. "Y-Yes, I'll make sure to figure out how to put together a proper payme-!"

"Fischer!"

He blinks in surprise when an apple bounces off the doctors- Fischer's head.

"Stop trying to charge patients when I said not to! Do Captain's orders mean nothing to you?"

Fischer rolls his eyes and picks up the apple, taking a nonchalant bite before walking off with it.

It was the Captain. The one who had saved him who had spoken. Stepping into his hidden little spot on deck and giving him a quick once over, lips pursed in thought as he took in his admittedly fragile looking appearance. He tried to stand up straight, chest puffing out, and pills and pen tightening in his hold. He's not an impressive sight, he knows. And before now he never thought he'd go out of his way to try to impress a pirate but the man almost can't help it. The curious and interested gaze that settles on him bores straight into his soul and he wonders if he can hear his thoughts.

His hand holding his pen shakes beneath his fingers. He desperately wishes to write of this encounter.

Of the way the world falls away and his hunger disappears and how all that matters to him in that moment is gaining the respect of the Captain- and, as if his thoughts have some effect on the world outside his little space, the mans face shifts into a smile and nods, confirming something to himself. But all the man can feel is relief. Dreams seemingly answered.

"Sorry about that," he grins, "Fischer is a bit of a miser. He's always trying to extort money from, well, from everyone. I wouldn't hold it against him. Fufufu. I mean, he even tries it with me! Of course, it never works."

He doesn't want to call him out but…

It's only a gut feeling but he's pretty sure that's a blatant lie.

"Anyways, now that it's been a few days and you're finally starting to gain a bit more weight," the Captain takes a cross legged seat in the chair opposite him, "I realized that I haven't exactly gotten the chance to introduce myself. Sorry about that. I didn't even think-"

"No, no. That's okay!"

He understood. He really did. He hadn't exactly named himself either.

"I… Don't even have a name. So it's not like I could properly introduce myself either."

The Captain is surprised. Clear as day, and he gives him an awkward grin in return. Having expected such a reaction. But what he's not expecting is for it to be followed by a loud laugh, like he truly can't believe what he's hearing. "Really? A mysterious masked man without his own name. I gotta say I should've expected as much. You're a real Zorro-type aren't cha'?" He waves off his astonishment quick enough. "Is it a part of your island culture or something? That's pretty cool, man. Got any ideas for a name? I can't exactly introduce myself if you can't return the favor."

"Not… Not much of anything. I'm not exactly good at naming things."

He'd been thinking of buying a baby naming book of all things and sorting through it but he didn't want to look weird when it was discovered that he didn't have a kid or was expecting one. Yeah, that would get him weird looks for sure.

The Captain stares at him blankly for a long moment.

The time ticks by and he finds himself growing more and more fidgety as it passes. The Captain appears to be mulling something over in his head, eyes fixed on his masked face before he finally speaks and he lets out a relieved sigh. He had a rather unnerving stare. Face not quite normal enough and eyes just different enough from normal people that it was unsettling.

"Are you-?"

"...Masked Deuce."

"Huh?"

The Captain smiles. "That seems like a good name, doesn't it? It just feels right."

"I…"

He can't help but to admit that he's right. As soon as he hears it something in his brain clicks into place. It's certainly an odd name. But, then again, he's not the most typical of people. Something tells him that the Captain isn't either.

"How'd you come up with that one?"

He bites his tongue to keep the idignance from being voiced when the Captain shrugs and says, "I don't know. I just came up with it. Neat, right?" Apparently, even without voicing anything, his thoughts on the explanation are obvious. "Fufufufu! Y-Your… Your face! Oh my god." The guffaws ease him into a sigh and he manages to crack a smile.

He was a little silly, especially from what he had come to expect from pirate captains, and he would've normally been reluctant to get along with such a man. But he knew he could be serious when needed, knew he could be kind too.

_"Hey, hey, Captain, there's a body over here!"_

_"Are they breathing?"_

_"I'm not sure!"_

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, remembering the events of a few days prior but which felt like they'd happen so long ago.

_"Fischer, I need medical attention, right now! We have a live one down here! And someone get-"_

He hadn't been able to make out much of what was happening at the time. As delirious and as close to death as he was. How close he had been to letting go.

_"I want a round the clock watch on this guy. I don't want him up and I don't want him to pass away in his sleep. Get Jones as well. I want him to confer with Fischer and get a meal plan set up."_

_"Yes, sir!"_

Still. He had gotten the chance to catch a glance through swollen eyes and faltering consciousness. Gripping onto the man and crying salty tears that he was too dehydrated to produce.

_"Don't worry, man. You're not going to die here. Not yet."_

He let out another breath. Eyes opening to see the Captain reseat himself and stop laughing at his expense.

"Alright. If you say so."

"Wait- seriously?"

"Masked Deuce. At your service. I could never hope to fully express my thanks."

He was waved off. "Oh, I'm sure we'll find something, Deuce." The blue haired captain, hair a much darker shade than his own, didn't even seem to care about his gratitude. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He leaned forward in his chair, teeth shining, and hands on his knees.

"I'm Roddie."


	10. Twin Isle: Starving Chang I: No Sleeping Easy! Attempts At Murder and A Restless Night!

_Click._

_Click._

_Click._

**_Click._ **

"Shit." She curses, very nearly falling flat on her face. Voice soft and reserved. Even the sound of her own heartbeat is too loud.

This was the last time she wore heels. Especially this high. She let out a groan, as quiet as she could, reaching down to grasp the offending object. The heel, in all its six-inch-glory, was murder on her feet, and the only reason she hadn't kicked them off was the fact they were laced up to her knees and made it too difficult to pull off while she was on the move. The stiletto had almost completely snapped off, hanging limp as a broken branch from the bottom of her foot. Tripping her up and threatening to snap her ankles. A thin, boney hand wrapped around it and with a final flick of her wrist it fell off, leaving behind a horribly mangled shoe with a hole in the soles that was bound to cause blisters. Even as she limped down the cobblestones, desperate to ignore the pain, she tried not to let it slow her pace.

"Hey, you wench!"

Her head shot up so fast that she got whiplash.

The burly man glared, as she had come to find was his typical expression, and began hunted her down from the other side of the street. She swallowed. He was easily three times her size.

"Get back over here!"

_"Tch!"_

Whatever curses she had on her tongue were savored as she fled down the opposite end of the street. Trying, and failing, to ignore the feeling of cobblestones piercing her broken shoes and the puddles and crevices filled with mud and water that threatened to send her collapsing to the ground. She could hear him gaining on her, close on her tail, heavy footfalls loud and fast compared to her own. Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Left. She twisted down corners and alleyways, jumping over unconscious drunks, and attempted to slip into the darkness or down pathways he could not follow. There didn't seem to be any hope for her.

Nothing seemed to work.

And she felt the beginning of real tears burn her eyes as the taunts and jeers he shouted after her only grew more horrible.

By this point the rain had seeped through her clothes and her hair was matted with water and sweat, pushed up against her forehead. She had to find a way to lose him- had to, she'd rather die than let him catch her. But there were no crowds that evening to get lost in. No, the only people up and about were few and far between, and she had lived on this island long enough to recognize those who would not help her. And she grew paler when she saw that those who may have done something- anything- turned away. Nothing but pity in their eyes.

"Damn, damn, damn, I-" She croaked curses that held no meaning. Terse and empty of all but fear and anguish and anger. She just- She just needed one person. Just one. Something to distract, time to get away, anything and-

_There!_

It was a boy. Standing in front of an old run-down bar that didn't even have a name, staring at one of his hands with a sort of distracted concentration. Through the weather any details of him were blurry, but even with the heavy rainfall and the sick mask covering the majority of his face, she could see enough to note the oblivious innocence of a youth. Younger than the usual riff raff that frequented these parts and cleaner than most too. He was out of place compared to the people here. Too bright, too wide eyed, and _exactly what she was looking for._

And so she ran straight into him, ignoring the yank of hair strands being pulled out as the hand swiping at her failed to get a good grip.

It was a close one.

"Babe~" The words were on her lips before she even made contact, a low practiced whine carefully cultivated to drive men crazy spilling out. "Oh, baby, you gotta tell the guy that you have the goods for me!"

When her arms wrapped around the, surprisingly, muscular frame, he went stiff as a board. Frozen part way through whatever he had been doing with his hand, a splash of water falling around her ankles and caking her further with mud.

"U-Uh, I think you've got the wrong-!"

"Ba~by!" She cut him off before he could let the jig up. Voice growing more tense. "Don't you recognize me?!"

"W-Who're-?!"

She let her mouth drop open in wide eyed horror, as if she couldn't believe he hadn't recognized her at first glance. It only served to make brown eyes grow more confused. Good. "It's Cona!" She cried. "You said you would hold the goods for me, remember?"

"U-Uh- n-no, I-"

It took more effort than she'd ever admit to keep the grin off her face.

Hook, line, and sinker.

The urge, however, only lasted for a moment longer because- "Hey, you-!" Cona's pursuer had caught up.

"Who is-" Whatever the boy had been planning on saying was cut off as he was raised straight off his feet, tank top collar- unfit for the weather -fisted in the man's hand and lifting him almost a full foot off the ground. "Okay. _This_ now."

She slowly began inching away, smirking triumphantly. Now to just get away while they're both distracted. Whatever he does to the kid couldn't possibly be anywhere close to what he'd been planning to do to her anyways.

"So you're this wenches sugar daddy."

There's something that passes over the kids face. Eyes wide and completely flabbergasted with his situation. He raises a finger slowly, mouth opening and closing in stupefaction.

"Uh- no."

"Don't lie!" The man growled. "You owe me my goods back, plus interest! I won't be made a fool by some skinny bastard and his bitch-"

"Oh, wow. Oh-kay. Um, I think that's enough of that."

He raised a hand up to pull the fingers off his shirt, he didn't let go.

"Seriously, man, let go."

Brown eyes narrowed.

" _Make me._ "

And he shrugged.

"Alright, fine."

Cona glanced back from a few feet away at that, just in time to have her eyes falling wide and her mouth hanging open.

For a split second, it was as if the rain had stopped entirely. His outstretched hand, now clawed, swinging to the pursuers head in a wide, open-handed arc that seemingly slowed as it grew closer to its target and then, all at once, it _surged_ -

"Kat?"

She stumbled back, slamming into a chest. "-gyeh!"

"What's going on?"

Cona twisted her ankle with yelp as she leapt back, only just barely managing to keep her feet. Looking up to be met with a pair of confused grey eyes. He wasn't the speaker, that was reserved to the woman standing next to him, but he was glancing back at the redhead boy with raised brows and no small amount of bemusement. "...Pardon me, ma'am." He intoned gently when he noticed her, stepping away and tilting his hat back, stepping around her.

His companion didn't even deign her with a glance. Face cut in a cold expression that took in the scene with not a hint of happiness. The two had come out of the bar, holding nothing but a single umbrella between them to combat the rain, and were clearly not enjoying the display on hand.

And the pair were blocking her escape route.

"Oh, Ace! Quinn!" Kat called out, freezing mid swing. The rain fell in a splash on the ground, as if nothing had happened, and Cona didn't want to think about it. About the way the water had _moved_ ; had it just been a part of her imagination? "Uh, sorry, guys, but this guy is holding me up. No pun intended." He added quickly. "I just, I _swear_ this is not my fault okay?"

The newly dubbed Ace chuckled at the pun and Quinn's expression turned dry by comparison, shoulders slumping.

Of course, then the attacker decided to speak up. Unfortunate, for everyone really.

"Who're they? Some more of your workers? You know, they might work." The man peered at them and something _twisted_ curled across his features. Cona wrinkled her nose in disgust, something dark curling in the pit of her stomach, watching as the new pair each fixed him with their own rather impressive glares. "The guy's a little too muscular and the girl could stand to drop a few pounds but I'm sure I could find someone to take them. How about I take them off your hands as payment instead?"

"'Scuse me…?" Ace muttered darkly, taking a threatening step forward. Blocking Quinn from view, who didn't seem like she needed the help if the look of pure hatred burning in her eyes was anything to go by, though the gesture was appreciated.

The man continued digging his own grave, unaware of the shift in the air.

"You owe me after all. Your wench stole from me and my men, and I aim to collect." He grinned wickedly. "'Sides, we could always use a few new, young ones to replace the ones that break-!"

_KRR- **ACK**!_

Cona slapped her hands over her ears as they popped, falling to her knees, and gasping for breath in her sudden shock.

The sickening crunch of bones having her heart bursting in her chest.

The red headed kid- _Kat_ -rose from his position, a low crouch, dusting himself off lightly. Ignorant to the lack of rain before it burst back into place, the absence making the world turn on its head. A boom resounded- creaks of a buildings foundation crumbling in on itself from somewhere to their immediate left. Sending up dust and rubble and everything of what a building once was.

"Don't even-"

He wiped a hand over his loose bandana-like headband. The fabric covering most of his forehead and ears, and sticking out from underneath and from the back, the well cared for mess of red spikes in a bun stood strong even in the rain. But none of that took away from the animalistic look in his eyes. The beastial twist of his features.

"- _think_ about my crewmates like that, you scum!"

It was so fast that she hadn't even seen the hit make contact. Had barely even seen him _move._ Only got the chance to catch him flipping midair to land on his feet and act like nothing had even happened, if it wasn't for the clear evidence of it right in front of her face she might have questioned if it did.

Quinn let out a low whistle.

And Ace complimented with a laugh. "Nice hit!" The creased lines of anger disappearing from his face, even if he still moved to hover around Quinn and Kat to make sure he was bodily shielding them from the direction the man had been thrown. "What was that about anyways?"

Quinn could guess. She didn't want to though.

Katsura looked guilty for a moment, teeth wrapping around his tongue as he fiddled with the straps on his clawed hand. "Uh, I don… don't really know actually. Just heard him talking shit about you guys and well." An awkward look fell over his face. "Sorry."

Quinn snorted. "Stop apologizing, Kat, you're not at fault here."

" _Still._ "

"Chehe. It was awesome!" Ace threw his arms behind his head, "Did you use your fishy-powers again? I've only gotten to see you use them on the boat and that Beast-thing. Not on an actual person."

"Y-Yeah," Kat rubbed the back of his neck shyly, "Hey, can we not broadcast that I have, ya know, fishy-powers? I-This is the first time I've been on an island other than my home one and I don't want anyone to… not _like_ me 'cause I'm…"

"What? Why would they-?" Ace stared at him, uncomprehending before having to narrow his eyes. "Wait- is that why you're wearing that mask thing-?"

Kat coughed loudly "N-No! I'm- I'm really sick! Anyways!"

Quinn didn't know whether to face palm or not. Simply sighing.

"-Did you guys end up getting directions?"

The change in subject has Ace looking decidedly unimpressed and slightly annoyed but he waves it off in favor of answering, "Nah. The bartender wouldn't tell us anything unless we paid him. And Quinn wouldn't let me spend any money."

She opened her mouth to dispute the look he sent her way, because u _h-yeah-no_ she was not going to pay for directions, but was cut off before she could say anything.

"Wha… What the hell was that?"

Cona was staring, still in shock.

"H-How could he just hit him l-like that-?! He went flying, that's not… this can't be real!"

At her exclamation, Quinn frowned down at her.

She was a thin, skinny little thing who had fallen on her butt. She had ruined shoes and an obnoxious dress that looked almost clownish and was in desperate need of _any sort of_ tasteful altercations. She looked silly really, somehow still pretty, lipstick in that odd permanent pucker shape that reminded Quinn of the Victorian-era and heavy mascara and eyeshadow running down her cheeks in smears of makeup. Hair a long brown mess that was once twisted into a braid. Other than appearance, Quinn didn't know what else to think about her. Nothing seemed to really stand out as far as she could see.

Quinn breathed an annoyed sigh out through her nose, balancing the umbrella on her shoulder.

Ace, Kat, and her had arrived at the island sometime in the late evening.

It hadn't been completely unexpected but with so many days out at sea she'd begun to wonder if land even existed in the world at all anymore. It had been days after retrieving Ace from the… 'missing incident' that she didn't want to think about anymore and they had taken that time to get back on their feet. As much as they could in their cramped little boat, especially now that _two_ of them couldn't swim anymore.

There had been all sorts of shady fellows and ladies of the night wandering around the island by the time they'd arrived, the rough sorts filtering around. And the three of them had tried to keep to themselves- or, rather, Quinn and Kat tried to wrangle Ace back so they could find a place to sleep for the night _before_ going off and exploring. She would kill to actually sleep in a bed tonight. And from the ache of her back she thinks it would too. The rain helped keep Ace in line as well. Keeping him from getting more than a few small flames out before they were getting snuffed by droplets, stopping him from experimenting with his newfound fruit powers.

The rain hadn't been nearly as bad then. But, at some point while walking, it had turned into such a downpour that water was dripping down her face and off Ace's hat in waterfalls. So Quinn and Ace stepped inside to ask for directions to the nearest hotel or room for the night while Kat stayed outside, somehow completely unbothered by the wetness, wanting to practice working with the heavy rain and, in Quinn's mind, "magic fishman powers".

Though she suspected that the glare the bartender shot him when he tried to come in was what really kept him out- apparently they hated underage customers coming in. Ace had decided to keep tight lipped about himself and Quinn didn't really know what constituted underage anymore. Not in this world.

(Zoro was nineteen and an alcoholic wasn't he?)

But, with the time they'd spent inside, arguing that no- she was not going to pay for directions when she could just go outside and ask anyone, the streets had emptied. And no, Ace, we don't have enough money to feed your stomach and _no-! now is not a good time to dine-and-dash._

Which had Quinn focusing on the women in front of them even moreso.

"Who're…" she flinched when Quinn turned to her, imploringly, "you?"

She was trying to keep under the umbrella while also shielding Ace and Kat as best she could. It was a losing battle, a simple beaten up umbrella couldn't help all of them on the best of days. She was still dealing with a few drops hitting the lower half of her face and chest, and well, her shoes were already ratty so she didn't think those could get any worse, her jacket unzipped in the front and hood haphazardly thrown over her head. Quinn's hair was a curled, birds nest, even worse than usual, sticking to her face and forehead and getting in her mouth. Her hood only served to shadow the upper half of her face, leaving her eyes to bore into Cona like two black holes.

And Cona didn't seem to appreciate the dark look. "C-Creepy!"

Quinn blinked in response. Mouth falling open in momentarily shocked silence. "Thanks." She didn't feel thankful and she stared at nothing when the sounds of Kat and Ace snickering lit up somewhere behind her. Quinn soured, voice clipped and darker than before as she repeated, " _Who're you?_ "

The resounding squeak of terror drew Ace and Kat closer and Quinn tried not to let her offense show.

"Chehe, Quinn, I didn't know you had it in you!" Ace slapped a hand on her back, making her grunt. "Maybe you've just got a scary face."

She purposely adjusted the umbrella so it didn't cover him anymore.

Ignoring his indignant squawk.

Katsura jumped past them to point at the fallen woman, "Ah! You!"

"M-Me!" Cona let out an even more terrified squeak, scooting back. "I- Look! I just mistook you for someone else and-"

"You… uh… what'd you say your name was again?"

She stuttered, mouth opening and closing.

Ace rolled his eyes and stopped trying to force himself under Quinn's umbrella, though that wasn't without trying to tug one of her arms out of her sleeve, "Katsura, where are your manners? You too Quinn!"

"Sorry."

She was not sorry.

Ace shook his head at them. He then stepped over, sneaking a hand to swipe the umbrella from Quinn-

_"Hey!"_

-and bowing deeply at the waist. "Hello, it's nice to meet you, miss. I'm Portgas D. Ace, perhaps you could introduce yourself now?" Quinn tried to reach around his back to re-grab the umbrella. She failed when he shoved her back with his elbow.

"I-I'm Cona! Just Cona!" She managed to somehow say.

("Ace, damn it, give the umbrella back. I need it just as much as you!")

"I'm Katsura but I prefer Kat!" The redhead jumped at the chance to introduce himself, which was unfortunate. As Cona shrunk back in a terror that had him freezing and deflating. The familiar feeling of scared eyes making him falter. "Oh. _Oh._ Um, okay. I… I'll just step back then?" He suggests quietly, raising his hands up in surrender.

Cona still flinches.

("Chehehe," Ace had a mischievous gleam in his eyes that Quinn didn't like, "Try and take it from me." She gave him a dry look.)

His shoulders came up to hug his neck. "I'm not gonna hurt you, ya know? That jerk… That jerk had it coming. I mean, he was messing with you too, wasn't he?"

("OW! Hey-! How did you-?")

Cona swallowed. Eyes shifting from Kat to the others and to the shattered remains of the building Katsura had punted the man through. The kid was a monster, beyond dangerous, but… she didn't think he was going to immediately kill her. Taking a chance, she nervously spoke up, "Y-Yes, I was running from him f-for awhile now so t-thank you. I… was really scared." She didn't have to lie this time. Ending the sentence with a whisper and a wipe of her arm across her nose. "Sorry I got you caught up in my problems."

Kat gave her a strange look, "What was with all that baby talk earlier by the way-?"

"Can we talk about this later?"

Quinn interrupted. Rubbing the bruise on her side where Ace had elbowed her a bit too hard and spinning the umbrella in her grasp. Cona couldn't stop herself from eyeing the sight of Ace nursing a busted lip and hurt stomach, it looked like he'd been kneed and headbutted, and had been even more surprised by the hits than he was hurt by them. Cona still tensed, waiting for him to burst out in anger. Instead, all he did was whine, "How'd you even hit me?"

"Uh, you are completely drenched to the bone, Ace. Fire is weak against water." She retorted, sticking her tongue out over her shoulder with a 'duh' sort of tone. "You're not infallible. Anyways-" Quinn was not enjoying standing around outside for as long as they had been. Crossing her arms over her chest and rubbing them to try and get some warmth and her blood circulating again, she was absolutely frozen to the core. "We've been looking for shelter. Cona, was it? Out here in the rain isn't exactly the best place to be holding a conversation."

Ace made a noise of agreement, sneaking back under the umbrella beside Quinn. His injuries seemingly disappeared.

"Yes! Yes, you're absolutely right!" She shouted before she could stop herself. "Right t-this way! You can- You can stay at my place. A-As thanks for saving me?" She doesn't even know what she's saying as the words spill from her mouth. The three either didn't notice or didn't care because Kat was too busy perking up and skipping over to her before she could even think to retract the offer.

"Really?" He asked shyly, hopefully. "That's nice! I- I thought I'd scared you or something."

Cona stopped herself short from confirming that _yes, yes he terrified her._

Any hope she had left of making them go away was brutally shattered when Ace slung an arm around Quinn, grin on his face. "See, Quinn, I told you we'd find some place!" Quinn let out a pained sigh of relief and just played with the handle of her umbrella. It didn't take a genius to see that she was looking forward to having a place to stay and was more than ready to take Cona up on her unfortunate slip of the tongue.

She gave them a pained smile. "R-Right." And Cona scurried ahead, turning stiff as Kat followed beside her, practically skipping after. Arms swinging with every step. She walked slowly in contrast, careful to not hurt her ankles further. Glancing out of the corner of her eye to watch the other two, the pair who had fallen into a leisurely walk behind them, the umbrella being shared and less fought over now.

Thankfully, nobody was talking.

The only noise was the rain pelting down around them and on the umbrella and, oh, it looked like Katsura had started humming in a horrible off-key tune. Of course, as soon as Cona had tried to look on the bright side they had to go and ruin it.

Ace decided to stomp on her bright side a little further.

"So what's this island called? We never caught the name." He asked good-naturedly.

She cursed him in her head. "T-The island?" And jolted, "Oh, you're on Starving Chang. The smaller of the Twin Isle's."

"Twin Isle?"

She nearly faltered in her steps, struggling with her words. It took a breath to gain back her voice and continue, much stronger than she was before. "The Twin Isle's are two small islands off the coast of Nest Island. Um, Nest Island is uninhabitable because of all the dangerous animals and invasive species that have made it their habitat, b-but each of the Twin Isle has towns on them."

"But…" Quinn looked down, ".. _.Starving_ Chang?" She inquired, balking at the name.

"Yes, apparently a great famine wiped out most of the people a long, long time ago. The other, much larger Isle is called Hunting Chang." Cona explained. "We think it got its name because it was the only place that people could get any food. This part of the Isle's was essentially barren during that time. Heh. I guess, in recent years, it's sort of switched, hasn't it?"

"Hm?"

"N-Nothing! Nothing."

She'd said it too quietly for them to hear her properly.

Quinn and Ace shared a raised brow. Then Quinn registered what she'd said about the primary island and- "Ace, don't you dare." He twitched. "I'm sure that it's nothing compared to the animals on your home island that you've told me about."

"How would you know?"

She pointedly looked away.

"Besides, we won't know unless we check it out!"

Cona made a face. "I wouldn't recommend it. You'd have to be some kind of monster to fight off the animals there. I've heard that only one man has been able to come out of there alive and I wouldn't want to meet him." Now that she thought of it, eyeing Kat, maybe they'd be able to survive it. She was becoming more and more convinced by the second that the people she'd gotten herself stuck with were some kind of monsters themselves.

"Really, only one man?" Ace mused.

Quinn groaned.

"Great, you're gonna run off as soon as we turn are backs, aren't you?"

"May-be." He wasn't actually planning on it- not _immediately_ anyways- but he liked messing with her. "It'll be like training for the Grand Line!"

Cona sputtered, hoping she'd heard incorrectly. Whipping around. "The- The Grand Line?!"

"Hm?"

"What." Quinn deadpanned.

"Th- That- you can't go there! It's a graveyard!" She shuddered. "I can't even imagine the horrors waiting there for the crazies that intend to enter that horrible place! Only pirates deserve such a fate."

There was quiet again before-

"Wow, thanks." Quinn remarked, voice equally dead as it had been up until this point. She was feeling very done and tired and the rain was not helping but neither was Cona.

Katsura and Ace just laughed, though it seemed a bit strained.

"Uh-" Katsura rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "We're pirates."

Cona choked on her own breath.

She was right wasn't she- They _are_ all monsters!

…

…

Cona's "place" turned out to be a large building with dying flowers outside its window and a rough, neon painted sign hanging in front of the rusty front door. The building was rougher than even some of the worst buildings in the area. _Starving Changs Cherries._ Written in clear block letters that had Quinn burying her head in her hands. Ace let out a low whistle at the sheer size of the building, it was several stories tall and looked like it was filled with room after room after room. Cona shuffled nervously on her feet to the side.

"I know it'll be hard but try and wipe off your feet- try not to dribble anywhere." Quinn bit her lip. She wasn't sure if she wanted to take her shoes off. "And I'm not supposed to have guests so don't- don't be causing any trouble, you hear?" She casts a fearful gaze at Kat.

"Aye, Aye." And Quinn gave her a mock salute, copied by Katsura behind her.

It would've been cute if Cona wasn't scared.

Ace smiled, "Thank you for your hospitality."

Cona felt herself slumping in mortification. She never thought she'd be bringing in a group of pirates, much less ones as strong as they were. The only comfort she had was the fact that she was pretty sure none of them had bounties and that meant that they probably weren't violent criminals- well, compared to what she saw. Hopefully, if no one was outright hostile or insulted them, there wouldn't be a problem.

Quinn wanted to feel sympathetic to the woman's obvious discomfort with them but she couldn't bring herself to try that hard.

After explaining that they were pirates, Cona had gotten ten times more suspicious of them and their every move. But was, at the very least, not stumbling over her words anymore. As if she was used to dealing with criminals and was getting more and more confident in her approach.

Stepping into the building, they were immediately greeted by a semi-lit room filled with women and groups of drunken men singing or being pulled to the crop of stairs in the back. Seemingly everyone who had disappeared off the streets had filed into the bottom floor of the building. Quinn eyed the company distastefully, wrapping up the umbrella and giving it a shake. "I take it you work here?"

"I-" Cona started at her tone, casting her a particular glare that looked like it'd been used a lot. "Don't be judgemental. It's a life. I'm not judging you for piracy, now am I?"

You kinda are, Quinn very nearly snorted. If that paranoid look in her eyes was anything to go by Cona didn't even want to turn her back on them for more than a second. But she bit her tongue, if it got her a bed for the night she didn't care, and instead, simply frowned, "No. I'm just curious is all. It'd be rather hypocritical for me to not respect someone trying to make a living."

The statement seemed to catch her by surprise. And also relax her shoulders a bit.

"Oh." Cona shook her head. "Okay, just. Just wait here then. I'll go get some towels or something. We're all drenched."

Ace stopped peering around the room long enough to turn to Quinn, "What do you mean by that Quinn?" He was wiping water from his dampened hat, the material turned a few shades darker of an orange. Kat also looked curious, though he was apparently more alarmed by the going-ons of the room around them to give her his full attention.

"What do you mean? I can respect the women behind this line of work. People do some extreme things to make a livable wage, you know." She paused before clarifying as she spotted a man leering at the back of a woman, face twisting in disgust. "Though it's more than a little hard to even try and _acknowledge_ the men who frequent these kinds of establishments."

The explanation had Ace only frowning harder. "This… line of work…?"

She snapped her mouth shut, lips pressing into a thin line.

Quinn… Quinn doesn't know whether or not he's being serious right now.

Katsura looked just as incredulous as she did.

"Ace." She said slowly. "Where do you think we are right now?"

"In a big building." He offered sarcastically, rolling his eyes, "No dur. It's an apartment, or hotel, or something."

Quinn and Kat stared at each other.

_"Snk-!"_

Ace's expression turned blank.

"Kehehe-"

"Y-You t-think-?"

"A-Are you for r-real right now?!"

"Shn-" Katsura snorted into his hands, tears pricking at his eyes. Trying to keep his laughter down. Quinn was in a similar state, one hand clapped over her mouth and the other holding her cramping stomach. Ace watched, growing more confused by the second.

"What's so funny?!" He finally snapped, irked.

Quinn sucked back her snickering, taking breaths to try and calm down, wiping a tear from her eye. "Gosh, Ace, what kind of establishment do you think this is?" When he opened his mouth she raised a hand up to stop him. "And, really, really take a look around you, okay?"

Begrudging, he closed his mouth. Taking another look around, brows furrowing. It didn't look like anything special. A few couples making out and a large population of women who were, by now, sending their trio strange looks but nothing that seemed too out of the ordinary. "A…"

"A bar or lobby area?" That felt like the wrong answer as soon as he said it because his crew were doubling over in their laughter now. He scowled, not knowing what was so funny. "Oh, screw you guys!"

"That's what _this_ place is f-for!" Katsura managed to bite out between peels of laughter.

"H-Huh?"

Quinn was first to calm down, looking immensely pleased; amused by this entire situation. "Cona is a prostitute, Ace."

He froze, eyes going wide.

Fondly, she quirked a smile his way, eyes crinkling as she broke the news to him. "This is a brothel."

Uttering a soft,"...Oh," Ace flushed ten shades of red, turning such a bright color that he lit up brighter than the sun. Quinn covered her mouth- she had never seen a person's full body blush like that before and she wondered if steam was going to come pouring out of his ears soon. He was positively burning from ears to toes.

"You… You really didn't realize?" She barely kept the disbelief out of her voice.

"...n-no." He mumbled, still blushing.

Ace returned his hat to its rightful place, grabbing either side of it and pulling it down, using it to hide as much of his face as he possibly could.

"Hey, I'm younger than you and even I noticed!" Katsura teased. "Are you just naive or what?"

"No." Quinn corrected lightly, before Ace could snap back. "Just dense." His shade of red turned darker. And Quinn couldn't help but feel a little pleased that Ace had failed at putting two and two together. It meant that he most likely held no interest in these kinds of places and wasn't one to seek them out or engage in its type of recreational activities. Which, she had kinda assumed already but it was always good to have some kind of assurance. It was good to note that the polite and respectful image of adult-Ace she had gathered from One Piece really did correspond with their actual counterparts.

She didn't think she'd want a Captain or crew who would come here.

"I'm not oblivious!" He hissed defiantly at them. At the looks they sent him he shouted, "I'm not!"

Katsura was ready to start teasing him again and Quinn took the chance to pull down her hood, shaking her hair out. She shivered. Wondering where Cona had gotten herself off to. Oh, there she was. Speak of the devil and she shall appear.

Quinn followed the woman closely with her eyes, face set in a dreary, dazed frown. Cona flitted around the room, offering polite smiles to patrons who tried to catch her eye, talking with a woman at the bar area who gave their little group alarmed looks. Quinn made sure to wave. Almost smiling when the bartender flinched and refused to make eye contact. Towels were pulled from beneath the bar and before she knew it Cona was arguing with the woman. She couldn't make out a word they said, not with how loud it was and with how far away they were, but when Cona turned back around to return to them she looked less than happy.

Actually, she looked more terrified than she had been before.

Quinn caught sight of something being hidden behind her back and she narrowed her eyes. Glancing at Ace and Kat who had somehow ended their teasing and gotten into a full-on poke war. A few jabs went through Ace before Kat remembered that he could actually make contact with his own powers. It was actually very entertaining to watch. Quinn sagged, she didn't think she could even try at this point to make them take things seriously. Kat was too busy making stabs at Ace's side, pulling out feints and trying to dodge, while Ace was poking him in the face head-on with zero hesitation or remorse.

She sighed, running a hand through her wet hair. "Dorks…"

Quinn twitched when someone, a man, stumbling over his own feet, reached an arm around her, "Hey, ice queen," his voice a drunken slur.

"Fuck off."

And he turned right back around, hand letting go, and nearly immediately ran into someone on his right.

"Keh." Her lips quirked up.

Quinn pretended not to notice the furious auras of her two compatriots seething behind her. Or the fact that the poking war was back in action as soon as she cast a glance their way.

"I- Please, don't talk to our patrons like that! We'll lose business and-" Oh, Cona's back. "-we'll get bad reviews and- and-"

Quinn gave her a thinly veiled smile; strained. "I think this place can handle a few bad reviews."

Cona seemed to get the message.

Didn't mean she liked admitting it. "Fine, yeah, I know. Just take a damn towel."

"Ace. Kat."

While they both looked up from their battle neither of them let up. It allowed for a rather funny image. Made more so when Kat suddenly snorted a giggle when Ace switched it up and poked him between the ribs.

"Towels."

They whooped.

Cona scowled, bringing a finger up to her lips.

They whooped quietly.

"Kehehe…"

Cona groaned. "Just… follow me."

Kat dropped the fight with Ace and wrapped the proffered towel around his head, rubbing it into his hair and following Cona. She was a short woman, even with her heels, and he was afraid that if he lost sight of her in the crowd that he wouldn't be able to find her again.

Ace just patted himself with the towel and took up the rear of the group. Even without noticing that the building was a brothel he still hadn't liked the looks any of them had been getting from the rest of the patrons. He was about ready to pick a fight with a few of them but he didn't think, especially with how she kept watching him from the corner of her eye, that Quinn would appreciate the move.

Cona ended up leading them up the back stairs, climbing them quickly, before walking down a long hallway with another flight of stairs at the end. Before repeating. They kept their gazes ahead but Quinn could pick out, with an endless amount of amusement, the way both Ace and Kat slowly began to blush deeper and darker shades past every room that made so much as a peep. Several flights of stairs later, and with a pair of aching legs, they finally reached a door marked by a simple _Employees Only_ sign.

"Not that I'm not grateful," Quinn started as she slid into a much more cramped hallway then the ones previous, filled with boxes and clothes strewn across the floor, with a few open doors blocking their way, forcing them to slide over the top of containers stacked as high as their waists. "But, uh," and here she wrinkled her nose in disgust. This was a hoarders paradise. "Where exactly are we going?"

"To the washroom. You three smell like sweat and muck." Cona grumbled, "and fish."

Quinn grimaced. Yeah, that had been all they were eating the past few days. Katsura definitely helped them stave off starvation but both Quinn and Ace were super not into the forced pescatarian diet. Even if they could cook things now.

...Cook was being too kind. It was charring them while Ace laughed and went out of control, nearly singing off their eyebrows in the process.

"Thank you so much." Quinn slumped. A shower would be so nice right now. It'd been. It'd been way too long since she'd been able to properly clean. And while he didn't say anything she could tell Ace was looking forward to it too. And Kat, well.

Kat was scrounging through the boxes and containers. Not paying attention. "I wonder if there's any shells in here to start another collection with…" There didn't seem to be any but he _did_ find an obnoxious, plastic mustache and fixed it to his face. "Guys, guys. Look. I've always wanted a mustache!"

He puffed up his chest proudly, the fake mustache nearly falling off his lip, and he collected a discarded wooden pole as if it were a sword. "I am the manliest of men!"

Ace laughed at him.

"Hey, are there any more of those sticks?"

"No, but there's another mustache!"

"Er, no." His tone was flat and uninterested and he was quick to look for something else. "Hey, you lied, there is another one!"

"Oh… Uh..." Kat blinked as Ace pulled out another stick. "En garde!"

She couldn't help but stare at them. Wondering whether or not she should engage with their antics at this point or spur them on to the showers. From her wrinkled state and the stale wetness that was beginning to stiffen her clothes Quinn was ready to go with the latter.

"Alright, if you head down the hall- Oh! What the hell!" No sooner did Quinn go to step forward and try and urge them to continue did Cona see what they were getting themselves up to. A particularly nasty look crossing over her face. "What are you two doing?!"

They at least had the decency to seem sheepish.

"Stop, stop. Just stop."

Cona whipped around to glare at Quinn.

Which was just unfair.

She gave her the blankest, most unimpressed look she could muster. From the growl Cona let out she was going to guess that she was just starting to get over her fear of them. Too bad. Quinn wishes they'd go back to how it was before.

"Why don't you stop them? They're acting like children!"

Well, she had been planning on it.

But now she was just sour and, instead of pointing that fact out, she just snorted and said, "I'm not their _mother_."

It was rather delightful to watch her face darken a few shades in anger.

...Quinn was going to hell, wasn't she?

Cona looked ready to punch her lights out. She thought the woman would be the responsible and most reasonable one, but no. Apparently not.

She was about to blow a gasket.

"Calm down, princess." Quinn rolled her eyes. And _wow-_ she was not helping the situation. "You said the showers were in this room, right?"

Cona took a deep breath to try and calm down. Looking like she was visibly holding herself back from stalking off and flopping down in her own bed for the night. "Y-Yeah. But there's… there's only one small-"

"Great." She cut her off before she could finish. "Then I'll go first while you watch these two. Have fun."

"W-Wait- w-what-?!"

Quinn snickered at the indignant cry she let out, only turning back to call after her still much distracted crewmates. "Ace or Kat, can one of you see about getting me a change of clothes? Anything that covers both my arms and legs- thanks!"

"Sure!" Katsura waved after, attempting to keep the mustache on his face. "Make sure you save hot water for me next!"

"Hey, why do you get to go next? I wanna have hot water-"

"Look, we'll rock-paper-scissors for it."

Quinn couldn't help but throw her head back and laugh at the sound of Cona belting out a frustrated scream under her breath.

…

…

The washroom turned out to be a tiny room at the end of the hall. It was a cramped space, surprisingly clean, and free from the clutter that made up the hallway. Yet Quinn still almost ended up knocking everything down. The counter space and what little shelves that were in the room were completely filled with products and bottles that it made it hard to just find the shampoo, brands that she couldn't recognize.

And she made sure of it. Searching through the names and packaging for anything that looked similar to what she might know or have used in the past. Nothing. It- She tried not to let such a small thing dishearten her.

There were worse things this world could be without.

Like plumbing.

"Oh god…" She turned pale at the thought. Quinn didn't think she'd be able to survive if plumbing didn't exist. "Glad I'm lucky…"

A knock on the door had her flinching.

"Quinn? It's me." Oh, Kat. "I managed to find some clothes for you and…" He sighed. He sounded gloomy.

Quinn wrapped the towel around herself, she was still half clothed but it was better than doing nothing. She cracked the door open, thankful her sleeves were still on her arms and legs, but Kat was going out of his way to keep his eyes on the floor anyways so she didn't know why she was worried. "Thanks. Uh," it was a too large long sleeved shirt and a pair of sweats that could be tied in the front, exactly what she'd hoped for, "what's up with you?"

He was kicking the floor.

"What?"

"Ace won the rock-paper-scissor contest…"

He pouted.

She failed to stop the amused smile from coming over her, "Oh no."

Kat made a noise caught somewhere between a whine and a grumble. And Ace, who she only just noticed was politely facing the other direction, flashes a peace sign over his shoulder.

Quinn covered a chuckle.

"I'll be out in a few minutes. Thanks again, Kat."

"Mnhm."

And since Kat lost the contest it meant that, by the time Quinn was done brushing her hair and getting ready for bed, Ace had jumped out in time to join her in trying to figure out the sleeping situation, decked out in pajama pants with flame patterns- which she thought was unusual that they'd just find lying around somewhere but she wasn't going to question it. Not when Cona was shoving a single rolled up futon into her arms and disappearing as soon as she'd come to push her into a small room that, while not untouched by people, seemed to be safe from most of the clutter and the rest of everything else that went on in the building.

She returned again to toss a large comforter at Quinn's face, offering them a quick goodnight that sounded suspiciously like "shut the hell up and sleep already".

"That's nice."

Quinn surveyed the room.

"We can share the blanket with Kat once he's done, it looks like it's big enough for everyone."

Ace makes a face. Quinn pretends not to notice how he looks away skittishly, apprehensive of the suggestion. "Uh-that's okay, I don't want to use it anyway." He doesn't say why but Quinn has a burning suspicion that it has something to do with not wanting to accidentally set it on fire in his sleep. She can't be one hundred percent on it though.

Well, at least she didn't have to worry about being burned alive. And there was more for her, score!

Which was good because Quinn didn't know if she wanted to use the futon. She didn't trust Cona to give them one that wasn't used. Also it was probably rude to claim it without talking to Kat first.

Quinn rested her head in her arms, using them as a pillow, curled up on her stomach and knees pulled and bent awkwardly to make room on the small floor. It was better than the uncomfortable curve of the ship but she still wished it had been a bed. Her chin dug into her wrist almost painfully and her shoulders and side throbbed with the harshness of the floor but-! She was wrapped in a warm blanket and was finally clean for once. It was still more than she expected. So it was hard to keep the smile off her face.

In contrast, Ace was lying on his back, hat over his face and arms crossed behind his head.

She was close enough to touch him.

And she was captivated by the flames on his hat. The fake ones, the ones she made, and not the real ones that he was now completely capable of making. It seemed the world had a way of keeping certain things on track even with her interference.

"Hey…"

He jolted. Her fingers tapped his arm, right on his tattoo, and she tried not to let her eyes linger on the crossed out letter as he lifted his hat up an inch to look at her. Grey eyes blinking in confused surprise, the frown on his face was not something she liked.

"I never got the chance to ask before."

A lie, she had plenty of chances. She was just too anxious to.

She was still anxious now, even as she used her free hand to gesture to her own head. "I didn't exactly ask for permission, but how do you like the addition?"

He didn't seem to make the connection at first. Mind working slow, especially with how the night crept along lazily. "Oh? The flames?" A cheeky, lazy grin crosses his face. "Real or fake?"

"Mn, both. But just fake for now."

His hands are on his hat, thumb and forefinger rubbing the design and feeling the texture that replaced what was once there. Truth be told, he hadn't even noticed them when he'd first gotten his hat back. It'd taken him a rather sad amount of time actually. He hadn't found out until two nights after rejoining his crew, spinning his hat on one finger, up late and unable to sleep now that whatever semblance of a sleep schedule he'd had was completely thrown out of whack.

Quinn and Kat were at his feet in the bottom of the ship. Kat splayed on the deck like a starfish and Quinn twisted into an awkward position that made his back hurt just looking, legs bunched up to her chest and upper body thrown wherever else she could stretch. Sometimes she mumbled something in her sleep. Either complete nonsense or just unintelligible.

And he had stopped and stared at her for a long time when the sewn flames made themselves apparent.

He's not going to lie. It… It was nice.

Ace presses his hat back down over his face, refusing to make eye contact with her as he hides his smile. Something tells him she still sees it and is giving him her own grin, relishing in the moment.

"Oh? I take it you like it then?"

It's a tease. And she probably doesn't expect a response but he still nods and says, quietly, "Yeah, my first crew mate did it for me. Of course I'd like it."

He's purposely not looking at her so he doesn't get to see her bury her face in her arms, only hears her groan and feels her jab her finger into his arm harshly. He's damp enough that it makes physical contact but part of it does go through. He sucks in a breath, hoping he doesn't burn her, and sags in relief when she doesn't react to the lick of flames.

"Ace… you're something else." Quinn shakes her head and curls herself back in her arms. The feeling of fire stinging her hand was strong but not unexpected or especially painful, so she says nothing about the slight pink on her index. It's not something it seems like he can help. And she's somehow not sure how to respond to a fruit so different from her own, even if she knows what to expect from it.

Ace doesn't acknowledge it. She's not sure if he wants her to.

They fall back into a companionable silence. Quinn is pretty sure she can hear Kat singing in the shower down the hall but its muddled and far away enough that it's not worth bringing attention to.

Quinn taps her fingers against her bicep.

"You're planning on going to Nest Island, aren't you?"

"You said not to."

"But is that going to really stop you?"

He's back to looking cheeky, mischievous gleam in his eyes. "No."

Quinn laughs under her breath quietly. "I figured as much. To be honest, I'm a little surprised you didn't take off to explore it the first chance you got. It sounds like something you're gonna be into." Quinn doesn't want to take even a step over there. Drawing up images of monstrous tigers and bears that she could never hope to beat but he could. "The place you're used to is called Mt. Colubo right?"

"Yep! It's just my little brother now training." Ace rolls over and his hat falls off. "Chehe. You were right anyways. It would've sucked to take off in the rain in the middle of the night anyways. 'Sides I wouldn't have been able to beat Kat at poking." He still is itching to run off and explore. It felt like it's been forever since he's been in a forest or in a fight and he was starting to feel a little out of practice. "I bet there's all sorts of wild animals there. Wonder how strong they are…"

"...and what they taste like…"

"That too!"

He's borderline drooling and Quinn can fill in the blanks just by looking at him. He was probably going to take off first thing in the morning, wasn't he? She thinks she'd win for sure if they were betting. "Well…" She looked down at the floorboards, rubbing a finger over them. She hoped she wouldn't get a sliver if she rolled over in the middle of the night. "Just make sure we don't have to go looking for you again, 'kay?" She meant to say it teasingly but it's a little hard not to make it serious.

Ace fell silent.

Oh.

He… Well, he wasn't expecting her to say that.

He kept his mouth firmly shut, not sure where to look and what to respond with. He squeezed a hand over his eyes, peaking between his fingers to shift his gaze back and forth. The rotten pieces of him wanted to laugh and ask whether it'd be too much trouble to put in the work again, even if something in his throat and back of his mind told him that clearly wasn't true. Sounding frighteningly similar to Sabo. The voice of reason was always the one that went up in flames first.

His mouth was dry and tasted like sand and ocean water.

He almost scooted away from her. But he didn't want to chase her off with devilish words. Didn't know if he stayed he wouldn't chase her away by just being him. So he settled on a lie that lay like a double-edged sword on his tongue, something he'd been wanting to think since he first ended up on that crappy little island but hadn't been able to.

He just wished he could honestly believe it.

"Why not? I know you guys will make sure to always come find me!"

Ace was very good at telling himself little lies to keep himself going. Thought he was equally good at telling them to other people to get them off his back. Unfortunately, the people he had experience telling them to either never cared enough to notice, didn't know how to respond if they did, or were… Or they were _Luffy._

Which was not- It was not an impressive track record.

And Quinn was more than prepared to call him out on his shit.

"Ace," his smile, while good enough for him, was weak in comparison to every blinding grin she'd seen before, and when it drooped at her next words she didn't know whether to glare at him or raise both her brows in complete doubt, "you are so full of crap."

She speaks before she even has a chance to think over her words. Doesn't know if she would if she gave herself the chance. It's so impulsive that she even catches herself by surprise, but she's used to not being able to hold her tongue sometimes. Ace is less so.

"Wha-?"

Quinn doesn't know how to put it _exactly_ but she's offended.

Because she can tell that he doesn't believe what he's saying. And she wonders what that says about her.

It doesn't help that she doesn't think she's done anything to warrant a belief in those words but still. It's disenchanting that he thinks so low of her and Kat. And, okay. She knows that's not the case. That it doesn't really have anything to do with either of them. But it's hard to remove herself from the equation when she's already there. "We found you before, didn't we? It just took a while." He nods, confirming what they both already knew.

"What makes you think we wouldn't come again?"

She already knows the answer to the question. It has more than a little something to do with an absent father with a bad reputation and that's putting it lightly. And, well, maybe she's being a manipulative and mythic bitch. Because he doesn't know what she knows and one thing she's sure of is that he wouldn't _want_ her to know.

And it's bothering her.

Quinn's nervousness gets the better of her when something dark and unbidden flashes over his face. While she's staring at him unblinkingly, its less intense now, and for an instant she thinks that perhaps it won't matter because Ace's eyes shift to his hat and back to her and it looks like he might say something but-

"Hey, guys, guys. The amount of soap in there is crazy. I put like eight different kinds on and- Guys?"

Ace is rolled away from her, his hat left in the middle, and she stares at his back.

Okay. Okay, so maybe she should've expected as much.

"I'm sorry. How many did you say you used?"

Kat is innocently jumping his gaze between the two but when Quinn greets it's as if everything is forgotten. Kat can see that she doesn't want him to ask and he can tell that Ace won't be responding so he does his part and doesn't say anything. That doesn't mean he doesn't notice or is not curious. "Y-Yeah, smell my hair, I don't even know _what_ this is-"

Quinn couldn't sleep.

No matter how hard she wanted to, not a wink came.

And the night only seemed to want to stretch on indefinitely.

She couldn't help but sigh.

"...Great."

Quinn rolled onto her back and sat up, struggling to untangle herself from the blanket without yanking it off of Kat as well. The moonlight illuminated enough through the singular window in the room that she was able to find out the way to unwrap herself in a timely manner. When she stood up, she had to be careful not to step on anyone either.

Kat was splayed across the floor, arms and legs spread eagle next to her, and on the other side of him Ace still had his back to her. The blanket was large enough that, since Kat had laid in the space between her and Ace, it could be shared. And Quinn carefully laid it over the top of the two before stepping over them and sneaking away quickly.

Or, she would've if she hadn't first grabbed Ace's hat and placed it next to his face. His eyes were closed. And, it was weird to admit, but it was strange looking at him without his hat at least on his person.

Quinn didn't want to wake either of them up. And the floorboards creaking under her bare feet as she stepped past had her sucking in a breath and paranoid that she already had.

But nothing happened so she kept going.

Tiptoeing out the door and making sure to close it as quietly as possible behind her.

If she'd taken a proper moment to check to make sure that they were still asleep she would've noticed one of Ace's eyes pop open as she turned away.

Taking in the sight of his hat now next to him. Watching her leave with a frown on his face, left wondering where she was off to.

He'd been similarly unable to sleep.

Eyes closed, yet wide awake.

Ace grabbed his hat and slipped after her.

The hallway hadn't changed. Not that she thought it would.

It was still as hard to navigate as when they first wandered unto the upper floors and she couldn't help but wonder why they had all this stuff here in the first place. None of it seemed like trash to be honest, or not entirely useless anyway.

Except maybe the mustaches. But those seemed more the exception than the norm.

There seemed to be a surprising amount of home items. Quilts and vases and cabinets and boxes labeled with names that she couldn't read completely, the marker smudged or written in a cursive hand that was almost impossible to read or simply didn't mean anything to her.

Quinn leant against the door to their room. Wondering if it was really worth walking around or if she should just try sucking it up and trying to go back to sleep.

"I mean, what could go wrong?" Quinn sighed, stepping over some boxes.

Admittedly, it wasn't unusual for her to wander off in the middle of the night.

It was a force of habit at this point. Too much coffee during the day or procrastinating on assignments until the last minute and just being more of a night-owl in general had left her in the habit of staying up for longer periods of time than were probably healthy, especially since she was often unable to sleep in or sleep properly. Sometimes her heart was racing too hard for her to fall asleep, or stress made her sick, or the night was just too long. Quinn rubbed a thumb along her wrist, her hands shaking.

Tonight… Tonight she thinks she just can't. She's shivering in a way that makes her want to curl up but she knows it wouldn't help. And her eyes are heavy but no matter how hard she tries she doesn't think she could close them.

It's a manic feeling.

She just wants to move around. See if she can wear herself out to the point that it doesn't matter anymore. Spells like these usually hit at inopportune times and she didn't think she wanted to deal with it in a cramped space, like the ship, if she could help it. Even a building that definitely didn't pass its earthquake safety test would do.

Quinn kept walking. Finding the end of the hallway, eyeing the stairs that went up. She was pretty sure, if she'd counted correctly, that they were on the second to last floor up. And, while she didn't think there'd be any difference, there was a door on this one. Which, other than the employees only door and the doors on all the rooms, seemed out of place.

Of course, she didn't even get to turn the knob all the way.

"What're you doing?"

The door opened in her face, she took a step back down so it wouldn't hit her.

"...Exploring?" She offered. Not knowing what else to call it.

"I'm pretty sure strangers aren't allowed up here."

It was a young girl. Rather distinct pale freckles splattered across her face like bright stars against her skin, with a natural afro stylized with braids across her hairline, pushing her hair back. She had hazel eyes that didn't seem to know what to make of her. She narrowed her gaze at Quinn, with such an intensity Quinn wondered if she actually _had_ something to feel guilty about.

"Who…?"

The girl gave a haughty sniff. It was then that Quinn caught sight of the bandages wrapped around her throat and collar, similar patches and bandaids spotted across her arms. "'M Salt."

Quinn had trouble keeping her incredulousness out of her voice. "Wait. Your name… is Salt?" She just wanted to be doubly sure she'd heard correctly.

Salt's face darkened. "Yeah, what's wrong with my name?"

"Nothing, nothing." Now that she thought about it. Usopp's little troupe were named after vegetables, weren't they? Maybe it was a common theme in the East Blue. To name your children after food. "I'm Quinn." Still. "A _real_ name."

Aw. She just got angrier.

She couldn't have _possibly_ seen that coming.

"Excuse me?!"

Quinn squinted. "...Do they all start off this young?"

"What- no!"

Her face turned green at the prospect.

"Oh thank god." She released a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. That would have been… horrifying to say the least. She didn't look older than twelve. And Quinn didn't want to think about such horrors. "So what are you doing here, then, Salt?"

Condescendingly Salt gave her a once over. From the look on her face, she wasn't impressed. Which: fair.

But the snooty attitude was wearing out fast. "If it's so important to you then I'm looking for…" She winced, glancing to the side guiltily. As if she couldn't believe what she was saying. "...The pirates."

Quinn raised a brow.

"Pirates?" She asked innocently.

"Yes. _Pirates_."

"And what's a little girl like you dealing with that kind of crowd?"

Salt pursed her lips. Face scrunching up so much that it looked as if she'd swallowed an especially sour lemon whole. Snapping quickly, jutting out her hip as obnoxiously as she could, she finally said, if more than a little miffed about it, "To thank them."

"Thanking… pirates…" Quinn repeated dubiously.

She went on the defensive. "What? Got something to say?"

"Uh- no."

On second thought, "No, actually. What do you want to thank them for?" She didn't think any of their crew had met the girl before. And she doesn't think that any of them had done anything to warrant a thanks.

Salt was about to answer before she froze, slowly grinding her jaw to a close. Face practically screaming with sudden suspicion. "Why do you… care?"

Quinn shrugged. "Humor me. Besides I got nothing better to do at this time of night."

Her nostrils flared. "Whatever, fine. The pirates saved Cona so I- I guess I'm obligated to say thanks. Even if they probably don't deserve it. I don't really care about them, specifically."

Oh. That thing with the guy earlier today.

Salt scowled at her. "There. I told you. I- Why are you here anyway? I at least have a reason, and you're not one of the workers, unless…" She then blinked, tilting her head. "...lesbian?"

"Only half the time." Quinn rolled her eyes. "But no. That's not why I'm here."

Salt waited for an answer.

"So- you're welcome then." She supplied amicably. Even though it was just Kat who did all the work. Eh, she'd let him know when he woke up.

"...huh?"

"I'm one of the pirates." She clarified and Salt falters, disbelieving.

"...no, you're not."

"Um. Yes. Yes I am."

"No. No you're not. You can't be!" Salt insisted. "Pirates don't have women on their crew- you- you're messing with me, aren't you?"

Okay, Quinn understood the sentiment even if she was flat out wrong. She pressed her lips together in bemusement. "I think you'll find that there's quite a few female pirates. Does the Emperor Big Mom not ring a bell?"

"That's different. She's the Captain." The look she received from her only seemed to send Salt into a tirade. "Ugh. Quit messing with me! I don't need more people trying to lie to me. You're planning something, aren't you? That's why you were coming up here- you- you liar."

"Uhhh…"

Quinn was suddenly very conscious of the fact that she had no idea how exactly to respond to the sudden overdramatic questioning.

"I bet you were lying before too!" Salt accused loudly, face twisting in anger. "You probably _do_ work here or something and you're skipping out on you job-"

"No."

"See, you _are_ lying! To my face!"

Okay, she grimaced, glare forming. This was getting frustrating. "Knock it off, brat-"

"Quinn…?"

Quinn would actually lie and say that she _did not_ jump. Heartbeat quickening as she whipped around, the hand grasping her wrist did not help to calm her. Not until she saw who it was.

They were interrupted by the tired, but quizzical, voice and freckled face of Ace. He was peering up at them from a few steps down and Quinn is surprised at how quiet he was and wondered how she hadn't noticed him sooner.

"Oh, Ace. Sorry," she guiltily eyed his disheveled state, "Did I wake you?"

"No, I was already up." He paused, glancing from her to Salt. "What's all the shouting about? Trouble?"

"Just a brat."

He sagged disinterestedly. "Oh, boring."

Salt, who was switching her gaze between the conversing two, growled at them. Stomping her feet. "I'm not boring!" She cried. "And you two are jerks! I'm going to go find Cona and she'll tell me the truth." Ace and Quinn made way for her to shoulder her way down the stairs, staring after her fast retreating back.

"What the hell was that all about?"

She shrugged.

"I'm not entirely sure but…" She trailed off. "I think I was about to throw hands with a twelve year old."

Then, almost as an afterthought, she added, "And now I think I'm getting tattled on?"

That got her an amused look.

"Are you sure I didn't wake you? You look tired." He did. He was much droopier than normal and he pretended not to yawn.

"You're one to talk."

"Oh, I'm not saying I'm not tired. I just can't sleep."

Ace scratched his cheek, not knowing if there was even a difference. "Isn't that the same thing?"

Quinn seemed even more tired when he posed the question. Which was definitely saying something. She looked about ready to keel over at any minute. He was almost thinking that he may have to catch her soon in the case that she falls asleep standing up. "Oh, don't worry. They're very, very different." She then shook her head and cleared her throat. "Is it the fire?"

He twitched. He hated that. When she changed the subject and pushed it towards him. Sometimes it was fine- like when he was talking about Luffy or the animals of Mt. Colubo but now it was getting a bit too meddlesome.

Still, he turned cheeky, repeating his question from earlier: "Real or fake?"

"Real."

He shrugs. "What do you mean?"

"That's keeping you up. The fire." She paused. "Is that why you didn't want to use the blanket?" It's almost accusatory, the way she says it, and she could have made it more so but she didn't want to sound… _that_ … arrogant.

The tips of his ears turned red. "Ah, you noticed?"

Ace wants to curse her. But he can't fault her, she certainly pays attention and can put two and two together.

"I'm sure they won't care if you end up burning one blanket in your sleep, Ace." She then covered her mouth, sudden thought occurring to her, and laughed. "We can- Cona is already so scared of us. We can tell her that we used it to summon the devil or for, like, human sacrifice or something. She'd go crazy."

Okay. He wasn't going to lie, that sounded a little fun. "You're evil, Quinn." It got a laugh.

"Oh, please," she rolled her eyes, "you're into it." And went to playfully punch him in the arm.

Unfortunately, both of them forgot he was literal fire now.

And, despite being something he was expecting and something she'd done before and, even though it wasn't a hard punch in the slightest, Quinn's fist still sunk into his arm. The sudden lack of physicality making her stumble.

It was more shocking than anything.

" _Aa-_ "

While she'd poked through him earlier, had seen him produce flame before, knew what he was going to be capable of with his devil fruit the reality of it… hadn't really sunk in.

The hiss she let out was more a surprised yelp and gasp than anything else.

Ace shoved her away.

"Quinn, sorry! Are you-?!"

"Don't worry about it. It was my fault anyways." Quinn stared at the festering red scraped across her fingers and knuckles with wide eyes. She'd had worse burns. Just from an oven or grabbing a piece of hot metal by accident. It was more the surprise than the pain getting to her and when she looked up it was to an intense-looking Ace.

"Really, I'm not hurt or anything."

He didn't look convinced. In fact, he didn't even look her way.

Eyes fixed so firmly on the burn mark that even when she hid her hand away, he still saw it.

Quinn watched him. With a growing uncomfort.

"...Ace. You didn't hurt me."

She finally said.

Ace's eyes flickered away finally. To her face, for a moment, and then anywhere else. Refusing to look in her direction.

He covers his nose.

It smells… too strong. The burning.

Something in his lungs feels like it's choking.

He swallows down the sensations.

"I'm still not good enough yet. I'll get stronger."

He says it firmly. A promise she knows he'll uphold before he even says it. But there's an air of sangfroid about him that's unsettling.

"Sorry."

Quinn pressed her lips into a thin line. She doesn't like the way he looks right now. Like he isn't quite there.

Tentatively she lays a hand on his shoulder. He doesn't seem to notice. Otherwise she thinks he would've jumped away and out of reach completely.

"Well, I think you're good enough. You just need a bit of practice, I mean, c'mon. Remember how stupid I was with my Devil Fruit when I was trying to figure it out? How dumb was I to think _catchphrases_ , of all things, would somehow help." It draws a simpered chuckle. "But- see?"

He glances down at her hand.

She's actually feeling skin. It's warmer than normal, much hotter than what it was or what would be… considered survivable for a normal human being. Just standing next to him she can feel that he's like a heater.

But she's not passing through. He's solid.

"You're not burning me now. It's just like your body has a natural defense. Just means I can't be stupid and hit you."

Quinn raises both her eyebrows.

"You know what that means don't you?"

He has a smile back. It's weak, a bit strained at the edges, the smallest one yet, but it's real.

He drops his hand from his nose a bit. It's still wrinkled but whatever it was- the smell of burning that was too strong for such a small thing that Quinn couldn't even smell if she tried- that was causing it had dulled to a bearable point that only got harder for him to notice.

He still didn't seem to be at one hundred percent but it was better than what it was, so she let the subject go.

"What?"

"There's a blanket ripe for stealing from Kat. 'Cause, ya know, Ace. A blanket can't punch you and make you fire like I can."

He rolls his eyes. "Oh, ha ha. I thought you wanted it?"

"It's a big blanket. But, also, I'm not going to be sleeping anytime soon. Unlike you." There hadn't been enough time for her to wear herself out. She eyed him again. "You look really tired."

"You said that already."

"Did I? Just more of a reason why it's true."

She dared a poke, a softer one than before. No intention of trying to cause harm, just trying to lay it on top of his skin. It was ballsy, because she knew she'd just throw him back into a state if she got burnt again, but if it didn't… She'd show him that, well, it was alright if he relaxed a bit.

There was nothing to worry about.

He sucked in a tense breath. And she didn't go through. "You look dead on your feet. I'm serious. You should lie down or something." So she smiled like she hadn't meant to do anything.

Ace slumped. She pretended not to notice his sigh of relief, or the way his nerves visibly eased.

"Fine. But only if you do too."

"Ooh, no dice, man. I don't want to sleep." A lie. She desperately wanted to. "Can't you see I'm the epitome of wakefulness?"

Ace was calling bullshit with a chuckle. "Oh, sorry, it must be the bags under your eyes that are throwing me off." He gave her a once over. "And the shaking."

"Common mistake, common mistake. Nothing like caffeine withdrawal to throw people off."

"What?"

"Coffee would be a godsend."

"Never had it."

"You said your brother is obsessed with eating meat, right? Even more so than you."

"Yeah?" He confirmed, wondering what that had to do with anything.

She gave him a dead serious look. "Coffee is my meat."

He didn't believe her. Not that she expected him to. Snorting at the notion, he didn't think Luffy would live without meat for as long as she'd gone without coffee. "I-I think you're seriously underestimating his love of food. And I don't think you need more of a reason to stay up."

Standing and chatting in a dark hallway, where shadows cast with every step and the only light was natural and few and did little more than grey the room as their eyes adjusted to the dark, was probably not the best course of action. Especially not when their conversation consisted primarily of them urging the other to sleep and the other refusing at every turn with guileless teasing. But neither noticed the night tick on. Both on opposite sides of the hall walls from one another, arms crossed, and grinning.

"Maybe we can wrap Kat up like a burrito, watch him struggle to untangle himself."

"Chehehe. What'll that even accomplish?"

"An incredibly minor inconvenience."

"Hey, wonder if we should get him something to put between his teeth? Don't think he'd bite his tongue anymore then."

"Like what? A rubber stick? I'd hate to have that in my mouth twenty-four sev. Kehehe. It's a good idea though. Maybe a cap for the back of his teeth. Just something to keep them from slamming down."

Eventually they'd slid to the floor. Ace yawning intermittently and Quinn resting her head in her arms wrapped around her knees, pulled up to her chest. Fingers taping her bicep.

"I wonder if that kid was serious about tattling."

Ace was struggling to keep his eyes open. Quinn wouldn't admit it but she was beginning to have a problem too. "If you get us thrown out it's entirely your fault, Quinn." He grumbled sleepily.

"Oh, come on, it's not like they're into us anyways. Pretty sure they're terrified. And of Kat, mostly, too."

"Would you prefer if it was me?"

"Mnh. I think I could scare them."

He blinked at her lazily. "Uh, yeah, _sure._ Right. Quinn."

"H-Hey. You don't have to say it like that."

They both nodded off eventually, when the conversation lulled and the moon was as high as it could be, complete opposite of the sun.

And when Quinn heard a door squeak open, she didn't try and wake up at first, simply scrunching up her face and burying her face further in her arms. Trying to block out the noise.

It didn't work, the door opened and whoever was behind it seemed tentative to let go, letting the old hinges squeal in protest as they took hesitant steps inside. It was somewhere down the hallway, far from them, and Quinn guessed it was the entrance from where the sound was coming from, probably that girl from earlier coming back to her room.

It'd probably fall silent again in a moment. Or, that's what she thought, until the anxious mumbling began.

"Uhn…?"

One eye popped open, vision blurry with sleep, and all she could make out in the lack of light was a dark silhouette creeping inside, their shadow falling across her face and upsetting the quiescent night. From the shape alone Quinn could make out the figure of a small woman shuddering with every hesitant step.

Whoever it was, they sounded familiar. "...Cona?" Quinn murmured, and wasn't heard. Too far away and too quiet and tired. She lifted her head up, rubbing her eyes, and watched the figure approach.

They sounded disturbed and terrified and nervous, all at once.

"It's okay, it's okay… you can do this, it's just a small bunch of pirates. Barely a bunch; just a trio! Nothing to worry about." The muttering under her breath continued. "Even if one of them is crazy strong and- _ooh!_ " She made a strangled noise.

Quinn uncurled from her awkward sleeping position, wincing in apology to Ace when she accidentally kicked him, not enough to even wake him as a lick of fire caught her toe, crawling behind one of the nearest pile of boxes and sneaking a peek over the rim. The woman was clearly trying to pump herself up for something that she was dreading- apparently involving them somehow.

"It's just one guy to take care of, the other two you can just tie up in their sleep. It'll be easy."

And it sounded nefarious already.

Cona sucked in a deep breath, hand falling to the doorknob of their room. Something silver catching what little light it could gleamed in her hand. "It'll be quick! You just have to kill the red headed boy and it'll be fine. The others will be picked up and we won't have to worry about anything anymore-!"

Quinn choked on her own breath as she opened the door.

"Ace!" Whipping around and kicking Ace in the chest, cursing when she realized it wouldn't do anything as her foot went through and stung her back. She had a second of panic before she was licking her palms and shaking him by the shoulders. It only let her hold on for a couple seconds but that seemed like it was enough. "Ace! Wake up!"

"W-Wha… the hell...?" He flinched as her hands swiped through him and he jerked awake to see her intense, black eyes glaring down at him, teeth bared. Face illuminating with the light of his fire and making her look orange, red and angry. "Quinn, what're you-?"

 _"Trouble."_ She hissed.

And rushed off without checking if he was following.

Ace blinked rapidly after her. A bit lost for words and unable to pick out much of what was going on as he forced himself awake before there was a shriek of someone down the hall and he was leaping after her to catch up. "Hey, wait-!"

"Stop!" Quinn growled the moment Cona came into view, a knife clenched in her hands and Kat still snoring beneath her. Cona barely had time to spin around and yelp at the sight of her, not making a move to stop her crouch and, in fact, looking like she was still preparing to hurry and finish the job. "I said- _stop it!_ "

Now, Quinn was by no means a fighter in any sense of the word.

While she knew how to throw a punch it wouldn't really pack much strength behind it. She was weak and didn't have much experience and wasn't looking for any. But- self-defense?

She could do that. She didn't have to be strong for that. She just had to know what she was doing.

And Quinn had taken enough self-defense courses to be confident enough in her approach.

"Put the knife. Down. Cona." She ordered at the same time she lunged for her wrist, the shriek she let out had Kat shooting awake and stumbling out of bed.

Cona bucked and struggled and tried to stab at her but Quinn used her weight to wrench the smaller woman to the floor, pinning her arm to her chest. Careful of the unsheathed blade.

Ace arrived just in time to see Quinn twist her wrist and force her to release the knife.

She kicked it towards him.

"L-LET ME GO!" Cona thrashed and Quinn rolled her onto her front, yanking an arm behind her back, holding the other down with her foot. Pointedly trying to ignore the throb of her jaw from where she'd managed to connect a hit. "Y-YOU- You pirate freaks! You don't understand, stop! Let me go!" Quinn tried not to wince at her piercing voice and tightened her grip on her arm.

Katsura shook away his sleep, eyes wide and obviously distressed.

"Get off of me, you bitch!" Cona cried.

Quinn grimaced. "Uh- Ace? Can you hit the lights?"

The lights in the room had her blinking to try and get used to it, and Kat glanced wildly across the rooms for answers. Ace, equally confused, picked up the knife at his feet and raised a questioning brow towards her.

Quinn decided it was best to just come right out with it.

"So… Cona here. Was about to kill Kat in his sleep."

The resulting tension could be cut with a knife.

And Kat paled drastically, greener around the gills than he was normally.

_"What."_

Ace looked like he was about to snap the knife in half with his hand.

"N-NO- It's- It's not what you think, I-I-I can explain!"

"You were going to kill my Navigator," Ace growled, "What is there to explain?"

"I-I-!"

Holding her down was beginning to get difficult and painful. Quinn pulled her arm to the point where she was gasping in open mouth pain and Quinn was completely unconcerned to her suffering and gesturing with her free hand for any sort of help. "Can I get some rope to tie her up with? I'd like to not be stuck doing this."

Before anybody could get a word in edgewise, tears were bursting from her eyes and snot was running down her face. Straight up sobbing. Loud and ugly crying too. " _P-Please-_!" Cona desperately tried to coerce any sort of sympathy her way, unable to speak properly through the pain. "-p-please- I can explain- d-don't tie me up- anything b-bu- but-!" She broke off into more hysterical crying, not able to properly finish.

It sounded genuine, too.

Quinn was utterly unperturbed. "Wow, you are so full of shit-"

"Wait."

Ace and Quinn shared a look.

Kat took a deep breath, looking completely frazzled with this whole situation. Which, she sympathized with, she wouldn't want to wake up and have to deal with something like this. He clapped his hands together, voice squeaky and cracking with sleep. "Just- Okay. What is _happening_ right now?!"

Quinn groaned. "I woke up and saw that Cona was making her way over to the room-"

"What? From inside?"

"Nah. Ace and I were sleeping in the hall."

"Why were you-?"

"It's not important. Anyways, she was talking to herself and said something along the lines of 'gotta kill the ginger and tie up the others for something' and so I woke up Ace and-" Quinn gestured around them. "-you can see the rest."

There came a shriek. "M-My arm! Y-You're going to disloc- dislocate my arm!"

"Oh, forgot about that." While she didn't lessen the hold she did make sure she wasn't yanking further than she needed to just yet.

"Please, I had to! For the others- i-if I didn't do it- everything we've w-worked for- it… it would all be ruined!"

That was a little… disturbing to hear. Quinn didn't want to know the reason behind it. And she was pretty sure Ace was too pissed to care, the set of his face angry and dark with rage that didn't seem to be alleviating any. Even when he reluctantly turned to Katsura.

"Kat…?" Ace prompted, wanting his opinion on all this.

He looked like a deer caught in headlights, teeth going down to press against his tongue. Trying to sort through the rapid fire thoughts running through his head.

Hm, you know, she'd almost forgotten how young he actually was. It was hard to connect age to someone as strong as he was but he looked so, childlike and out of place at the moment.

"Kat, just take a second to calm down. Put your claws on if you need to."

Quinn carefully began to mediate, drawing the teenager out of his head.

He clenched the claws to his chest. She'd noticed they'd seemed to help him focus and remain steady.

"You don't have to do anything. I can take care of it." She looked to Ace for confirmation and got a nod in return. "We just want to know what you think should be done since she tried to hurt _you._ "

He nodded slowly, eyes closing.

"If you want to leave it up to me and Ace, that's fine."

He shook his head.

"No. No, I can…" The claws rattled as he strapped one on and held it close. As a means of feeling constant protection and vigilance. "Her hands. Tie up her hands only."

They both pursed their lips.

"We'll take her to these 'others' and have them corroborate her story. If the explanation is reasonable… it's up to our Captain from there."

 _That_ was better.

Ace nodded solemnly.

You'd have to be blind not to see the way he puffed up with pride at Katsura's decision. Whether because of the boast of confidence towards him or just because of Kat couldn't be said. But it seemed to offer no small comfort to Kat to know he had the Captain's approval.

"Quinn." Cona had given up trying to get out of her hold and, while she was still crying and doing less than stellar, Quinn didn't have to put as much effort in. "We're going to figure out what's going on here. And we're going to burn this place down if we have to."

A hand lit with fire, untamed and wild. Turned his grin positively wicked.

Cona yelped in terror. "W-What-?!"

"No complaints here." If all the people in the building were behind it then they would've had it coming.

Quinn smirked, lips tight. "On your word, Ace."

-0-

Rope was surprisingly easy to find in all the stuff. Some of it was being used to keep packages together, so it was fairly simple to collect and use to tie Cona's hands behind her back.

Quinn took the few moments of quiet they had to place a gentle hand on Kat's shoulder.

"You okay?"

They were walking down the hallways. Taking their time down the steps to urge Cona along, the sounds of downstairs still going strong despite the time. Ace was leading them in front, a fiery steel in his eyes and a scowl stretched across his face.

Maybe it was just because he was angry but the serious, deadly calm on his face was putting her at ease. Grateful that whatever silliness was going on beforehand could be brushed aside in favor of things of higher priority. And like a flip of a coin, too. Opinions on the Captain getting slightly raised aside… Kat didn't seem like he was doing too hot.

Pale, shaken, and uncomfortable with every step.

He seemed to jump at her touch. She dropped her hand to her side, not wanting to worsen it. "-mn? Wha- oh. Oh. Yeah. I'm fine."

With the way he was glancing down at his feet, he wasn't very convincing.

And was that a slur to his speech that she was detecting? He'd bit his tongue again.

"I don't think you need me to tell you that that's a lie."

He hung his head, "You don't."

Kat just… He let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his hair. "I know I'd made a bad impression. I know but I… I thought it'd be fine. Thought it'd be different from before."

"It's not your fault. You know that, right?"

"I'm okay if people don't like me. They can even- _hate_ me. But, I thought, if even if that happened, they could just meet me and warm up to me eventually." He sagged. "It's fine if people want to kill me or attack me. I'm used to it. I just figured… that they'd have a better reason to hate me other than me just being me."

Quinn closed her mouth.

He's right. There's no good reason for it.

She glanced down at her skin. She'd always been darker than the majority of her family, brown in a way that they weren't. She was told that she took after her grandfather in that respect but she barely remembered seeing him, and she doubted she would've remembered the color of his skin if she did. The small difference… unnoticeable to her until people began pointing it out, was apparently important to others.

It wasn't the same. Not the level that he was implying. But that didn't matter.

It still hurt.

"I… There's no reason for it that matters and I don't know. People are stupid." It's a horrible way to put it. She's not sure how to articulate it. And she just wants to run away from it all and not say anything anymore.

But Kat was thankful that she was at least trying.

"People _are_ stupid." He agreed.

And they were stupid too. Because a dumb sentence like that, from her being unable to convey her feelings from years of being unallowed to, shouldn't be able to hold so much weight and speak so much to them but it does.

Kat gives a wet laugh, it bubbles in his throat and is sick with tears that aren't really sad. Just old ones that he hadn't had the chance to shed yet.

They reached the bottom of the steps.

"You guys ready?" Ace called. He didn't mention anything on the conversation he had undoubtedly overheard but his eyes had softened and somehow grown in fury at the same time.

Quinn and Kat shared a look.

"Give me her blade. I want it." Quinn spoke up without thinking. "I want to make sure they won't use it again." Not on Kat.

Ace passed it her way without a word.

It was a simple knife. Sheathed in nylon with a buckle attached to it, an all-black spear point blade. The only notable bit about it was a wave of silver across the finish that had been warped and now gleamed brightly in the low light.

Quinn hooked it to the belt loops on the back of her shorts, they'd had the chance to redress, and watched as Cona bowed her head and prepared herself for the inevitable.

"Let's get this over with."

Ace kicked the final door in. It went rocketing down the steps.

It was quite the sight to see. Grown men jumping back in surprise and fear and women with an amalgamation of reactions from shock to expectancy to scared to angry. Quinn hung back as Ace stepped down the stairs and came into view.

A polite smile on his face.

"Pardon me!"

Silence. Pure, unadulterated _silence_.

It was music to their ears.

"You know, I wasn't planning on starting a fight-!" He began cheerfully. And let Cona stumble down the stairs next to him, falling into a heap at the bottom of them. People jumped away like cockroaches, skittering to the edges of the room. "But, when it involves my crew, I get mad. So-!"

He grinned darkly at the throng of bar-goers.

_"How 'bout some answers?"_

They probably cut quite the trio.

Almost automatically Quinn felt her spine straighten at the attention they gained. She adopted an apathetic mask, staring down her nose at the crowd. None seemed to pay her any particular attention but a few inched away at her glower. She stood on Ace's right, a few steps behind, while Kat was a few further and on his left. He was nervous and, if it wasn't for the fact the only clearly visible part of his face was his eyes, it would've shown. But coupled with the sick mask and the bandana it cast an intimidating shadow over his face.

The people stumbled back.

She didn't know whether to hang her head or be proud.

"Cona?! You- How dare you?"

It was the bartender. And the one Quinn assumed gave Cona the knife when she was collecting towels. She was the only one who came forward-

She stood corrected.

"Cona?! Hey! Let her go, what are you doing?! Bastards… why are you doing this?!"

It was Salt.

She was held back by one of the workers and hidden by a group of ladies. Quinn thinks that she would've tried to run up and punch them all if she got the chance.

Cona thrashed, worming her way into a sitting position, "I-I'm sorry every- everyone, I just- they're pirates! I didn't stand a chance."

"Don't apologize, Cona." The bartender growled. "I should've known it would've taken more to get them than that."

That elicited a snarl from Ace.

"Anybody who's not apart of this. Leave. _Now_."

He was pleased to note that the majority of people did, in fact, scram.

"Hey- who da' fuck do you thinks you are?!"

Unfortunately, some overconfident jerk had to ruin it by stumbling over, alcohol on his breath. Not even able to speak properly. Let alone stand up straight.

Ace twitched at his approach.

Those that remained turned wide eyed.

His speech was so slurred that it was hard to understand but an aggravated Ace could make out something along the lines of- _"We're just here to have a good time! So grab someone and have some fun or get out and go-"_ He had said some _not-so_ polite words that Ace wouldn't bother repeating, even on a bad day. And, fortunately for everyone involved, he didn't finish what was obviously an insult because a knife was placed at his throat.

Oh, at least Kat was feeling better- wait, hold on. Nope. That's Quinn.

Ace blinked in surprise, and his grin turned genuine.

"Choose your words wisely. That's my Captain you're speaking to."

It was an appalling sight.

If only for how out of place it felt.

Ace would not usually call Quinn intimidating, but half sitting on one of the tables, having bypassed him without him noticing, the knife in hand and glaring so harshly at the man his knees were knocking, the older woman was downright scary. Especially to outsiders.

"Before your luck runs out, I would advise…" An eyebrow arched up delicately. "That you take the words I offered you earlier and-" She pressed the blade closer to his throat. Not quite enough to break skin but enough to leave a mark and turn the surrounding area pale. _"Fuck. Off."_ A sadistic smile curdled across her face.

Ace and Kat felt a shiver run up their spines.

Even if they knew how much of a dork she really was, they had to give it to her. Props.

That seemed to be the final straw.

And there was a mad dash to the door.

"Hm." Quinn hummed, rolling the knife between her fingers, observing who remained. Trying to play off the way her shoulders slumped in relief that the overconfident display had paid off, though she was sure Ace noticed. "I guess she was telling the truth when she said there were others."

It was them. Cona. Salt, oddly enough. The bartender and a gaggle of women holding their heads high behind her.

Quinn was the only thing separating them from Cona.

Great. Wonderful. This is exactly what she'd thought she'd be doing tonight.

She buried the knife into the table. Internally wincing at the intentional property damage. Ugh, she was not paying for that.

"No one moves past me until we get answers, got it?"

She received sneers in response but it seemed to work, so she nodded back to Ace.

"Your turn, Captain."

It felt weirder then she would admit referring to him that way. But it also felt _right,_ so she didn't let it bother her.

Ace grinned beneath the shade of his hat.

"She said she could explain. We figured we'd hear it from all of you at once," he looked up, grey eyes furious, "So let's hear why you wanted my navigator dead."


	11. Twin Isle: Starving Chang II: Battle And Betrayal! Fire Fist Reveals Himself?

The rain has refused to let up.

The moon is beginning its descent and the sun will be up in an hour or so. If they wanted to keep the cover of darkness they were operating under a time limit.

It was hard to see through the rain. It was thick and heavy and made it impossible to hear anything but it hitting the rooftops. Which is why, in the light of the open doorway they stand in, onlookers see only a flicker of flame. It would then be swallowed by the droplets, petering out before it can get very far. Completely smothered.

The resulting curse was drowned in the noise.

He can't get a proper light. Even the larger flashes of attempts die down before long, disappearing into nothing in his hands. A weakness to water even worse than most.

An umbrella is positioned over him. And it's the first attempt that stays strong.

"...We really need to look into our abilities more, don't we?"

"Yeah." He nods.

If she remembered correctly, he had been able to affect the weather with his fire sometime in the future. And, while she could definitely feel it bubble beneath his skin, a heat that warmed the air next to him, it wasn't nearly strong enough to be more than a slight temperature shift right now.

She dusts gold across his arm, looping it onto the C with little effort and theatrics. It's unreliable and most likely going to be ineffective, but it's somehow comforting that the mark is there. He rubs at it in response. It doesn't move beneath his fingers or even try to come off, as if it's a part of the tattoo, and he decides he likes the addition. It's like he has a secret.

He takes the offered umbrella.

"Are we ready to go?"

"Already marked Kat."

"Mark Cona too."

She bites her lip. "...Do I have to?"

He gives her a look that's dry and answers the question for her.

It continues to rain unrelenting as they're joined by another pair. Gold is quickly lit across skin and red warms the way, acting as a flashlight, and they move down the empty streets with little discussion between them. The brothels lights dim behind them. The residents quiet for a night. And if anyone sees the dark figures running in the darkness they quickly forget about them.

But, unnoticed by all, even those aware of what was soon to be proceeding, a fifth figure followed the group. Much smaller than the rest. Slipping into the dark with hardly a whisper and not a sound to their steps. Leaving the street behind, as if they had never been there in the first place.

…

…

"I'm… sorry. Care to repeat that?"

Quinn heard what she said but it was… still hard to compute.

The answer would almost be cryptic for its sheer unexpectedness alone.

And she was so tired. God, she could feel herself growing more and more weary with every single second passing. She pressed her palms to her eyes, dragging her hands down as she rubbed them raw. The sensation doing nothing to get rid of her now overwhelming need for sleep that felt like it could come at any moment.

It was unfortunate timing. She actually had shit she had to deal with now.

"This brothel…" Cona bowed her head, breath shaky.

At least Ace and Kat seemed to be having an equally hard time wrapping their heads around it.

"...it's a front."

Because, of course it is.

It only makes sense. _Sarcasm._

"Yeah, no. I got that part."

Still. That was not the excuse they were expecting. It was hardly even an explanation.

And they really needed more information than that.

" _Cona._ " It was that Salt girl again. Hissing from somewhere in the back of the group of women huddled across from them, hidden by arms and bodies. She's red faced and angry and clearly frustrated with the scene unfolding in front of her. And, if it was any indication, she seemed to know what's up as well. "Don't say anything! Someone will overhear and they- they don't deserve an explanation!"

"Uh. Actually. We do." Ace deadpanned, making his way down the stairs with a single jump. Striding across the room in full intimidating statue, pissed off beyond belief. "And _that_ isn't going to cut it!" He hissed back.

There was only so much anger he can deal with keeping contained.

And this didn't call for him to even try to.

"You tried to kill one of my crew, one of my friends! I'm not just going to forgive that!"

She was lucky that it was Quinn and not him who'd overheard her muttering. Ace didn't think he'd even be able to go easy on her if he'd been the one to see her with the knife over Kat. For now, he'd settle on the dissatisfied curl in his stomach and the cool ire pooling into his eyes.

Sweat seemed to collect on her brow and Cona looked like she couldn't decide between passing out or throwing up. Or both.

"I…"

Kat crept up next to Ace tentatively.

If it was a better time and place, Kat would have tackled him into a hug. The statement forcing him to duck his head and his blushing face, rubbing at his sick mask with the back of his wrist. Beyond bashful.

"I know!" Cona managed to swallow down the nausea and fear long enough to shout back. "I know. I'm not… I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm just…"

Emotions at an all time high. She choked on the lump in her throat and the bartender stepped forward.

"We're just asking you to understand."

Salt growled. "They're pirates," she spat, unhelpfully, "they could never."

_"Try me."_

Ace is of little patience right now.

A pall of instilled fear has settled by this point. And Quinn watches those who tried to stand in defiance fall back, leaving none but the three too stubborn to give up. Even as the bartender raised her hands in surrender, the gesture was more placating out of necessity rather than a genuine offer of compassion.

"It's okay. We don't have to fight."

"And yet you're the one who gave Cona the knife." Quinn hums under her breath, just loud enough for Ace and Kat to catch wind. It gets her quick glances from over their shoulders.

"We're not your enemies here."

Ace scoffs. "Could've fooled me."

"I- no. We know it was bad. But, please."

" _Please_ ," Cona punctuated on their appeal, "trust that we didn't have a choice. And if- if we thought there was another option… we would've taken it. This brothel isn't really a brothel." She paused. "Or, it is. But that's not its primary purpose. We just want to keep the people here _safe_."

"You thought we were a threat."

"No! I mean, yes, kind of. But _not._ You… You aren't the ones we're afraid of."

"So," Quinn slid her hands down her face, burying her chin in her palms, utterly disturbed by the unfolding situation, "who are you afraid of then?"

It was hard to keep her eyes on any one of them. They all seemed to shift uncomfortably and look to their feet in despair, hoping for a better sight or to disappear where they stood. It made her suspicious of their every move and every breath. Made all the worse when Cona, who sucked in a deep breath, turned to the bartender for counsel.

They seemed to speak with their eyes for a long minute before Cona drooped and swallowed thickly.

Quinn got the feeling that they'd known each other for a long time. And that they could all also assume that, since the bartender seemed to be the ringleader behind the whole operation, she was also the proprietor of the brothel.

"There is a, uh."

She seemed to be having trouble speaking. Eyes downcast and tongue licking her lips anxiously.

" _Group_ on this island. And they… they come from the other isle, Hunting Chang." Cona let out a self-assuring sigh. Trying to calm herself down. It was hard for her to _admit_ , let alone say. Despite knowing it to be true. Saying it out loud just… made it feel all the more real. The other women seemed equally miffed and angry and she persisted on because of it. "We are at their mercy."

"...So?"

Strangely enough, they say it in unison, sharing one voice of complete disregard.

Cona cracked a smile. It was sad and tired. "Do you know what the Twin Isle is known for?"

"No."

_"Spice."_

"Drugs?" Quinn filled in.

Unexpectedly, she shakes her head. The smile still quirked on her face, like she expected that assumption. "Nope. Actual spices. Turmeric, nutmeg, ginger, saffron, paprika. You name it, we produce it. It has nothing to do with drugs. I mean, we're the number one distributor in the Blues- heh. Probably even the world."

Salt let out a low huff, "...shut up, someone will hear."

The bartender seemed to agree with her and they all tensed as she motioned at the brothel women and they began to move quickly. Not stepping anywhere closer to Cona, of which Ace made sure with glares and dark looks, as they closed window blinds and locked the door and- standing vigilantly at every possible opening to the building, and the subsequent exits.

"Hey, hey…"

A shared look with Ace had her grumbling under breath but keeping quiet. It didn't stop her from stealing paranoid glances at each slight movement. They weren't surrounded, but they were most certainly blocked off. And, while Ace didn't have any reason to worry about himself, Quinn was plenty worried.

She already didn't like this. Now she hated it even more.

"Everyone thinks that, because of what we do, we're under their thumb." Cona laughed coldly, humorlessly. "The- heh. The Marines talk a big game, but there's no justice for people like us. We're nothing to them. People don't care enough to investigate if we're having a hard time, which makes this the perfect place. They're going to have a hard time catching things going on right under their noses when they refuse to look down."

Quinn knew they were missing something.

"Unfortunately," the bartender hummed, "makes it a little hard to report troublesome people, doesn't it?"

Kat and Ace seemed just as confused.

And Kat tentatively spoke up, "...But, the group, though. You haven't mentioned them. What're they doing?"

"...Blackmailing us."

"What does a _brothel_ have to hide?" Quite insensitively, Quinn asks, mouth getting away from her. She nearly bites her lip in self imposed embarrassment at the tone that slipped out, the sentence coming out with more blithe and bluster than she thought she was capable of. "I mean," she clarifies, "what the hell does that have to do with spices?"

Cona almost snarls a retort but swallows it down with a sardonic laugh and thinly veiled anger.

"Yes, well! When your spice production is so popular that the Celestial Dragons take notice and decide that we're their number one provider and refuse to pay anyone because we should be honored to be forced into labor by them, I think you're going to want to find any way out that you can. Even if it means hiding in safe houses, where people would never think to look, like, you know, brothels, or leaving the island that was once your home entirely."

Oh. _Oh._

Quinn suddenly wanted absolutely nothing to do with this island.

"That's bad…"

"It's a monopoly, really."

Kat nearly choked on his own saliva. "Wait- Wait, hold on. You… You're hiding _people_?!"

She felt sick and her stomach dropped. Quickly trying to steady her breath in order to remain calm, only just barely keeping herself from failing miserably. The Celestial Dragons… Quinn wanted to leave. It was enough to have goosebumps breaking out over her skin as she bit her lip. There was just so much that had her heart stopping.

She almost missed hearing Cona confirm Kat's question. "It's an unfortunate truth."

"...And upstairs?"

Salt had kept her from the top floor when she'd come down. Quinn hadn't thought to check once Ace had arrived, distracting her from exploring it further. But, now it made sense why such a young girl was in the building and apparently knew the workers.

Speaking of her, the girl was growling at them under her breath. Like she didn't know whether to simply prowl or go on the attack.

"We keep most people on the top floor. All the stuff in the hallway…"

It'd reminded Kat of his shell collection that he couldn't bring with him. Important items that he'd love to have because they were _his_ and no one else's but were just too much to realistically and seriously consider lugging around.

"It's the things people have taken from their homes that they want to bring with them. Most of it they can't take. But the factory likes to confiscate people's things, and they'd rather we have it than they do."

It made a fair amount of sense.

A big ol' fuck you to their aggressors. And, relating to it, Kat didn't think he wanted anyone to get a hold of his shells. The small bit of relief he had was owed to the fact that he didn't think any of the islanders would stumble upon his home. Whether for remaining fear or it simply being out of reach.

Ace let out an enraged breath through his nose.

"The ones blackmailing you…" He spoke up darkly. "They're a threat to this."

He's a dark presence in the room. A weight that's heavy on their minds, a constant; one that has Cona second guessing her every move. He's like a predator. Stalking. Not something she can actively engage… but a threat she couldn't possibly ignore.

She still nearly jumps out of her skin, not having expected him to say anything.

"Y-Yes! It's," she swallows nervously, "the group over here. They figured out what we're doing. They're… threatening us because of it. Using it against us. And we can't do anything."

"Not without them messing up our whole operation." The bartender finishes for her. "Then no one will be free."

It shouldn't be enough.

Ace's eyes turn intense, something clicking into place in his brain. It's the sort of- Of course! -feeling when finding out something that should've been obvious. It's not that anything really pointed to those bastards, or that they'd even crossed his mind. But Ace had come to find that most problems in the world seemed to have at least _something_ to do with the Celestial Dragons.

And, that shouldn't be enough. It isn't.

Kat was attacked. And he's still clearly shaken.

But Ace is less accusing. Even if he's not meaning to be. They still don't know a lot, and he refuses to let that be the end of it, but he- He understands. Even if he doesn't want to.

Something like a snarl begins to build in the back of his throat and he swallows it down with gritted teeth.

"-So what?"

Quinn is much more audacious than him at that moment.

"Are we just supposed to forgive you?"

She was sympathetic, she really was. And, any other time, she would've been all ears and way more empathetic to their cause. But it was like they were dancing quickly off the topic of the conversation, the real reason they were pissed, and she refused to let it derail itself further.

"You could be saints for all I care," she pulled the knife from the table and resheathed it, "that still doesn't excuse the fact that you tried to murder one of us. In cold blood." Even she knew it would have been different if it had been a fight, but while he was _sleeping._ The sheer audacity was enough to offend.

From the look on Cona and the rest of their faces, they did not appreciate the return to the subject. Looking disgruntled.

"So they know your secret. Big deal. What the hell does that have to do with us?"

They were nothing but a small band of no-name pirates. They didn't even know about Ace and her Devil Fruit powers and- let's face it, this is the East Blue. They probably had no reason to suspect that they actually existed in the first place. Nothing but tall tales and mythos. There was no reason for them to have been targets- much less have gotten involved- none of them even had bounties yet!

Salt snapped. "See! I told you- they could never understand!"

"I don't understand because you haven't actually given us any answers. We're not looking for excuses or attempts to pull at our heartstrings." Quinn snorted and then turned her gaze forward. She's receiving eyes from everyone in the room at this point. And Quinn leans forward, glare fixed, trying to draw answers out of them was like trying to siphon oil. Hard at first, but once you got them going, they wouldn't stop. She just needed them going in the right direction. "You know, I bet they like hurting you."

It's acidic. It drips from her tongue like poison, fatal and manipulative. And it has them turning red in the face and babbling with barely kept rage and voices beginning to yell.

Even as the cutting words burn on her own breath, she continues despite the pain.

"Because, again, no one would care. And, on the off chance they did, then you'd be discovered and your whole operation would be ruined. They have you completely backed into a corner. Like you said: you're at their mercy." Her eyes glint. "So why the hell would they go out of their way to hurt us when they're so busy hurting _you_?"

It causes a bout of silence that's only broken by sputtering.

"It was an exchange."

It's the bartender who admits it. Half expecting to receive a punch to the face when eyes fix themselves on her face.

"And we had to keep our part of the deal."

For the additional words, she very much almost did.

Fortunately for her, Cona quickly swallowed her nervousness down and spoke up. Grim and unbelievably tense, eyes fixing closed. Refusing to make eye contact with any of them. "The… uh, one who saved me earlier- K-Kat? Is Kat his name?" Said redhead flinched at the stutter and the fear in her voice when she said it, only able to nod slightly. "He took out one of their men. Remember? Earlier, the one who was chasing me." Everything was said so hesitantly and quietly that it made it almost a struggle to hear her, she was trying to gauge their reactions without opening her eyes. Too scared that she wouldn't like what she saw if she opened them.

"They… wanted him dead as retribution?" Quinn guessed.

"Y-Yes."

Ace folded the words over in his head. Teeth grinding, there was the chance that she was lying. Though Ace doubted it. The reactions they'd been given corroborated her already. But they couldn't afford to be wrong about this. He tried to figure out every side to her words that he could, stealing a glance at Kat.

He seemed to physically droop, but from the look on his face he was clearly thinking this was pretty par for the course.

Reluctantly, Cona peaked an eye open when no attack came. Nearly shutting her eyes again when she caught sight of the look on Ace's face, a shiver running up her spine. "They- They wanted two more replacements also!" She blurted. "They promised two people to the factory as gifts."

Feeling sick at the glimpse of his grey eyes.

"F-For me and… for Salt."

Said girl seemed to turn beet red, lips pursed shut and eyebrows pulling downward. "I told you not to say anything." Salt hissed, crossing her arms over her chest. The seething was directed away from them for once and Cona squirmed at the shrill disapproval.

Quinn recalled the heinous suggestion the man had offered them before Kat had thrown him through a building. A dark scowl twisted across her face. "That's why he said that he wanted to take me and Ace off his hands, then?"

"An eye for an eye." Ace muttered.

Kat felt like he was about to hurl.

And his tongue grew numb in his mouth with the weight of his teeth.

It felt nothing like regret. No. In fact, a flash of anger boiled over his skin, and he wished that he'd hit even harder. But something disgusting curdled and he wanted to lash out. Fists shaking with dangerous creaks of bones as he clenched them and-

"Kat?"

He swallowed.

Blood from his mouth had been lifting past his lips, raising into solid drops beneath his sick mask, and the sweat and leftover dampness from the shower earlier, drifted unnaturally upward with steely emotions and unshaken anger. He leaned into Ace's hand, letting the emotion bubble inside, before quelling it with a stifling focus. The hand on his shoulder was warm and comforting. And the spark of flames, flickering on his fingers, helped to put him at ease.

"Why…" He shook off the… uh, _moment._ Trying to pretend like it hadn't happened and quickly took the conversations reigns, a bit unsurely. "Why did they want replacements for you two?"

"Why does it matter?! You have your answers now, just leave us alone!"

Ace, thankfully, squeezed his shoulder a little harder in comfort. It turned his glare into a simmering heat.

Salt still flinched.

Quinn supposed it didn't matter much at this point. They had more than enough to make a decision but it felt like solving an incomplete mystery. And she wanted those few remaining puzzle pieces before anything was decided. Ace didn't seem like he was quite satisfied yet, either. And so she chose to push their luck a little further. Running her teeth over her lip, if it was going to be done, she might as well be the one to do it.

She didn't think Kat would be up for it anymore. He… looked to be in a state.

"No. Go on. It's not like you're in a position to tell us no."

It's a thinly veiled threat that's barely a threat at all. More of a promise at this point. And more of a shove in the right direction, really.

Something tells Quinn that they won't be burning the building down tonight.

Cona turns to Salt pleadingly.

And, for once, the supercilious girl caves in. Pointedly not looking in Kat's directly, unable to bare their gazes, and tells it like it is.

"They… caught me. Calling for help." She rubbed at her neck, the bandages crinkling beneath her fingers. "For people that might actually care. Hunting Chang… everything over there is closely monitored. Everyone is under lock and key every minute of the day and they can scramble any kind of communication lines they don't recognize."

The frustration is clear as day.

"I thought that… over here it'd be better. But those bastards, they hang out on a hill overlooking the ocean, it's the biggest building on the island, and they caught me nearby when I was just starting to pick up a read… damn it."

"Doesn't anybody who leaves bother to come back with help?"

"Well, yeah, some try to. But once people hear it's about the World Nobles they either ignore them or… throw them in jail for trying to go against their rule."

"After a while, we told them to not… bother." The bartender admitted. "We didn't want them to screw up what we still have working for us and we didn't want them to ruin their lives that they just got back."

"Cona… tried to help me escape, and I did, but she got caught doing it." Salt clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms as she bowed her head in shame. "I should've listened to my brother and been more careful…"

Cona soured. "You shouldn't have listened to that brother of yours at all." She sneered, shooting a stern glare over her shoulder. "Getting you involved in all of this…" She shook her head in indignation. "You're just a child!"

Salt turned red. "Just because I'm young doesn't mean I can't do anything! He said that anyone can fight back and those that don't are-!"

"Would you jump off a cliff if he told you to? I know you look up to him but… _this._ This is just ridiculous. He's not right about everything and filling your head with ideas that could put you in danger- What would your sisters say?"

She puffed out her cheeks, practically steaming from the ears.

"...I bet they would agree with him too…!"

Their arguing was giving her a headache. She rubbed her temples to try and massage the throbbing out but, unfortunately, it seemed to do nothing to help and Quinn sighed.

Almost missing catching sight of Kat turning to Ace. Whatever his eyes seemed to convey had Ace frowning and searching to make sure he got the right answer. No sooner did he blink, words unspoken, and it almost looked as if they had had an entire conversation held between them. And, when Ace takes a step forward, Cona and Salt trail off and the room was subsequently silenced in his presence.

The audience waited with bated breath.

Quinn followed his gait closely and Kat looked away.

"The ones threatening you," he approached with a shadowed face, "they're the ones who wanted Kat dead, not you?"

He was standing over Cona now. The poor woman was shaking like a leaf and was forced to swallow, mouth suddenly unbelievably dry. Nodding, waited for the inevitable, and sucking in a terrified breath that she believed to be her final.

"...Okay then."

Ace let her binds fall, fingers burning through the restraints.

"W-Wha-?"

She gasped. Eye blinking open wildly, gaping at her freed hands.

"They're the ones behind this all." He grinned, teeth showing with an animalistic bare. "I'm going to kick their ass!"

Cona rubbed at her red wrists in shock. "B-But- I thought-"

Quinn ran a hand through her hair, sagging. She expected as much.

A real fight. She didn't know what she was in for.

"Don't get me wrong, I still don't like any of you. But I'd rather focus on the actual threats. Chehehe!"

It was a wonder seeing the reactions from the room. Complete disbelief and disproportionate shock. Ace really knew how to leave a room speechless, didn't he?

And then he promptly fell asleep.

_"Ah."_

Quinn rushed to catch him before he could hit the floor and crack his head open. Ignoring the opened mouthed attention they gained. Goddamn, she _really_ didn't know what she was in for.

But…

"We'll need to figure out how we're going to do this without messing everything up. And I think you all seem to have quite the surplus of information."

…

…

"This way…" She hissed, hard to hear over the rain.

Under the cover of darkness, their shadows stretched to run against the sides of the building and over the street. The umbrella fighting against the wind, attempting to throw itself inside out, and Ace wipes a hand over his brow. Avoiding the droplets as best he can, but still struggling with the task.

"I got it."

The water suddenly disappeared in front of them and the rain stilled midair.

"Thanks."

It was enough to have Cona stopping in her tracks.

She was dragged forward before she could even register what happened, stumbling over her own feet. Not wanting to think on it and, definitely, not on the possibilities of the power.

They split.

A quick nod had the two men rushing away, sprinting off into the dark, far faster than they had been moving previously. Leaving the others to trek slowly and carefully, dredging through muck and mud at a silent and uncomfortable pace. Deliberate in their movement. There was much to be done and they had found the building.

It stood lonely on the hill at the edge of the island. Further out and displaced from the rest of the land, dark and lustrous in the pale moonlight. They all clambered closer, making sure that they remained unseen.

Kat and Ace shared a smirk.

Oh, this was going to be fun.

…

…

"Can't we just go in there and beat the shit out of them?"

"Mnh, well, we _could_ ," Quinn drawled slowly, looking up from the paper that was spread out in front of her, "but we could also not. You know, I don't want to be the one to tell the people this place is protecting that we ruined their hiding spot and decade worth of safety. Do you?"

Begrudgingly, he agreed, pouting. She had a point there.

"Besides," she went back to writing on the paper, "if we tip them off that the brothel isn't under their thumb they'll, I don't know, try and get revenge or something. And, as much as they will have deserved it-" She gave a pointed glare to Cona, who had the decency to at least look ashamed. "-I'm sure said-protected people won't appreciate it. Especially for screwing up their hiding place just because their helpers are _massive assholes_."

Because, as much as they were pirates, they weren't _that_ kind of a jerk.

They didn't really have any hostility towards people who didn't have anything to do with them.

The women all bowed their heads and Quinn didn't try to hide her self-satisfied smirk.

What? She was not above being as petty as possible.

"So, a plan."

"A plan." Quinn confirmed.

It'd taken Ace quite a while to wake up.

He was completely dead to the world in that span of time. Mouth hanging open, head lolling to the side, and unaware of everything happening around him. Even as she'd laid him on the floor, careful not to jostle him, he hadn't so much as twitched. The sudden narcolepsy attack had had her heart jumping into her throat, the sheer shock of it enough to have her throwing herself forward just so he wouldn't hit the floor. Even though she was pretty sure his fire would protect him from any initial bumps and bruises.

Admittedly, she'd hissed when Cona had tried offering a helping hand.

A reluctant one, she might add, that was only there because of the woman's own surprise and newly released binds. After that, no one dared step closer with Quinn sitting next to him and Kat crouched close. Hovering over her shoulder and watching Ace with a mix of worry and nervousness.

The manga had made a mockery of Ace's narcolepsy. The attacks played up for comedic value and a quick laugh, or a shocking introduction with a twist. And, when she'd read the book and knew nothing of someone with the illness, she'd… thought it a little funny. Now she just felt ashamed of herself.

It… wasn't funny.

It wasn't cute, either.

The sleep attacks were either completely sudden, which was often the case, or were slow and dredged out. Leaving Ace blinking and woozy on his feet, suddenly lacking in basic coordination and function, as he deliriously tried to make sense of the world around him. He would close his eyes and they would roll to the back of his head as soon as he opened them again. The ugly facade of someone desperately trying to stay awake but being unable to.

If he'd been standing, he would collapse, completely unbalanced. If he was sitting, sometimes his muscles would seize up and he'd look as stiff as a board, almost as if he was having a seizure.

Honestly, she wouldn't be surprised if he'd gotten used to getting knocked in the head every time he suffered an attack. It was enough to have her grimacing and standing closer whenever she could, not trusting his fruit to throw up its defenses. Sometimes it left scrapes of fire on her hands wherever she'd catch him. Small blisters and calluses beginning to form.

Thankfully, he hadn't noticed that, and Kat was there to pick up the slack if she ever wasn't able to make it in time.

And when he was getting them multiple times a day… she needed the helping hand.

The first few times it happened had been when he was sitting down, luckily enough. He'd just nod off for a second or a few minutes, depending, and was only half the time aware that he'd even fallen asleep. And the one time where he'd been standing up had been in the middle of the deck, making him lurch forward and right onto Kat, so they hadn't been as worried about it as they probably should have been.

It had been luck.

That's all it had been.

She was glad that she'd been keeping a mark on him at all the times she could.

But…

_"Hey, Kat, check out that cool bird over- uh- over-"_

_"Wha- Ace! Kat, dive after him!"_

The resulting tumble over the side of the ship- a death sentence if Kat hadn't been there- had been an abrupt eye opening experience and an especially strong punch to the gut for Quinn.

She'd… She'd just laid down for a second and had forgotten to re-mark him.

She'd been forced to watch Kat grab him and yank him back up to the surface, sputtering and spitting. Thankfully, not breathing in any water.

_"Forgot I can't swim."_

It was one thing for her to be unable to swim and save herself. It was another to watch someone else nearly drown and be completely unable to help them.

"He cool?" Kat muttered over her shoulder, hunched beside her.

"Yeah. He's fine."

It was beyond worrying. And she hoped that the ones shown laughing at his narcolepsy or not caring at his expense were inaccurate. The depiction of it was not… good from what few she'd seen.

At least Kat was as equally concerned about it as her. The red head fretting over him with anxiety ridden shoulders and a stressed attitude that was not going away anytime soon. He'd gotten into the habit of watching Ace whenever he'd gotten close to a water source he could possibly drown in.

Considering that the majority of the time they were surrounded by the _freaking_ ocean-

Well, it was a state of constant vigilance.

And one they were determined to keep.

"Wow, this drawing is almost as bad as my brothers…" Ace rubbed his chin, mumbling under his breath. Unaware of the worry he caused them.

Kat tentatively whispered, "How… How can he draw worse than this?"

"We can at least tell what this is."

Quinn snorted, calling up the crappy images that Luffy drew to her mind- which she was sure was absolutely ten times worse in reality. The sheet in front of them was a bunch of squiggly boxes and triangles with labels and an approximate idea of where everything was. The map- courtesy of Cona and Salt and whoever else grabbed the pen- was shittily drawn, none of them were particularly gifted artists.

And Quinn was busy making a list of all the things they absolutely couldn't do.

Like Alert the spice factory…

...which would presumably alert the Celestial Dragons.

She definitely didn't want to catch the attention of anyone in association with the Celestial Dragons. Especially not providers of any kind. Even if it was something as dumb as spice they'd undoubtedly get worked up about it if they heard someone was messing with them in even the slightest way. It was absolutely ridiculous.

And it had her biting her lip in fear.

"Now, _how_ many people are we dealing with?"

Quinn didn't want to fight. She was essentially a non-combatant. Oh, sure, she could run and climb buildings and hardcore-parkour (Ha!) her way to safety, lockpick and perform _really_ slow self-defense moves, but that really wouldn't get her far in an actual real fight. The only training she had was defense sessions at a gym in a controlled setting with slow, repetitive motions that she could perform in a completely _non stressful_ situation and with people that knew when to _let go._

Was Quinn skipping over the fact that she managed to pin Cona down?

Absolutely. She didn't even count in her mind.

The woman was tiny and looked nearly half her weight.

She did not like the thought of this.

A fight. A fight. A fight. She was actively pursuing a fight.

"Thirty, give or take."

They were bent over the table, trying to formulate some kind of plan that wasn't a foolhardy attack with nothing else going for it. And Quinn was not liking anything she was hearing so far. Half assed ideas or plain stupid ones were tossed around, or simply nothing at all. But, thirty people. _Thirty._ She hoped that was the max and she wasn't lowballing it because-

Wow, okay. Quinn rubbed her temples.

Ace waved a hand in the air, unbothered by the number. "I can take them."

"I know you can, Ace. But that's not the problem here."

He beamed at the boast of confidence.

She gave him a flat look.

Ace was more of a man of action. While he was interested in the prospect of a plan, this was getting tedious. He was all for rushing in and throwing hands with the first person he saw. Unfortunately, the general and resounding response he was getting to _that_ suggestion was a vehement 'no!'- resulting in a sympathetic pat on the back from Kat. Who was more inclined to go in with a plan if he had the option but… he felt a bit thrown for a loop at the ideas Quinn was muttering about and denying under her breath.

They all seemed good to him but then again- this seemed more Quinn's thing.

"The only person we really need to convince that we're absolutely acting of our own accord and directly in response to the attempted murder is the leader, so we'll have to find him…" That was assuming that he would be the only one who would be listened to if he contacted the factory. "If they're in cahoots then we'll be screwed if they call them and tell them we've been messing with them, and since they're probably going to have direct phone lines to them it'll be annoying…"

It was a lot to unpack.

Also, he didn't know what a phone was.

"You sure about this, Ace?" She asked, not for the first time, with little hope that he would change his mind.

"Of course! They were the ones that wanted to mess with us," he tapped his knuckles together and gave her an absolutely devilish grin, "We're teaching them a lesson one way or another."

"Naturally."

Of course. Instigation promotes reaction.

Well! Quinn had a knife now, so there was that.

She'd had to slap away Cona's hand when she'd tried to retrieve the blade, receiving a dark glare and a glower that was not to be trifled with. The woman had shrunk back and hadn't tried it again, hadn't even looked her way. Sweating under the intensity of Quinn's stare.

While Ace and Kat were seemingly moving on from the- uh, _attempted murder_. Quinn was not so easily swayed, even if they wanted her to be. It helped that the glaring seemed to be getting to them, causing them to shift uncomfortably everytime her eyes passed over their faces. Though the bartender, who was also very, very suspect, was having a much easier time not acknowledging it.

"I, uh…"

Cona swallowed as the full trio's attention landed on her.

"I-I want to go with you."

"No."

Quinn was immediate to decline.

Kat knocked his shoulder against hers and she didn't even try to hide her scowl.

"Please!" She'd been begging a lot lately. Cona made a distressed noise, bowing her head, hands on the table to brace herself as she spoke. She didn't even think she could say it. "I want to help, you're helping us now! I m-mean, even if it is just because of a common enemy. I want to go and…"

_Make up for my actions._

She couldn't bring herself to say it, to admit her wrongdoing, but it was implied.

"Mmhm." Quinn was not impressed. Looking sour.

And Kat… wanted to say yes, but also not at all. He didn't have a lot of practice with forgiving people, would rather bite his tongue than do it, and he didn't want to start now.

Fortunately, this was a situation where he didn't have to decide.

"Ace?"

"Sure."

He'd default to the Captain's choice.

It wasn't quite forgiveness. But it was something.

And he felt like he was getting away with that something. And he didn't feel the least bit guilty about it.

Quinn was unhappy with the turn of events. "Uh-huh." It meant that she'd have to keep an eye on Cona because she'd be damned if she let the women anywhere with either Ace or Kat alone, even if she knew they were both more than capable of defending themselves should they need to. "If you get caught, it's on you then. They'll have a reason to suspect the brothel is behind this."

Cona winced. "I know… but they're connected with the Celestial Dragons. It won't matter either way if it involves _them_. I'll take my chances."

The unfortunate reality of the situation had Quinn groaning slightly. Yeah, she wouldn't be surprised if they held all the citizens on the island accountable if they thought, for even a moment, the people were behind it. A dark thought crossed Quinn's mind and, while it was quickly shaken away, she didn't… quite forget it.

_They'd make the perfect scapegoat._

She really did deserve to go to hell.

"Hey, if Cona goes I want to go!"

"What do you think this is- a field trip?" Quinn asked incredulously.

Salt sneered. Not, it seemed, appreciating her comment. Heh, none of _them_ appreciated her outburst. "I can help just as much as she can. They hurt me too!" She gripped the bandages around her neck, wincing from having touched the injury too hard. It made her eye twitch. "I can-"

She was yanked away with a yelp by the bartender, the woman looking absolutely infuriated by the girl. "I don't care what kind of things your brother has been feeding you, you aren't strong like he is. You shouldn't even be down here. We told you to stay with the others until you were healed and we could send you back to your sisters-" Whatever else was too hard to make out as she dragged her to a stool by the bar. Making sure she didn't add in anymore unnecessary comments.

Salt fumed silently, rage palpable.

"...Right. Anyways, I think I have an idea."

A plan began to form at last. Broad enough for Ace and Kat to stick to it with little effort on their part but still enough that Quinn was finally satisfied that she wasn't walking to her immediate death. The bartender watched them from where she still stood at the bar, pouring herself a drink, listening to the plan with a nod of her head.

"Normally, I would never condone this."

Ace rolled his eyes. "We're not asking for permission."

She ignored him. "They'll screw us over no matter what, whether we help or not, unless you all would let us turn you in-"

"Nah."

"Not happening."

"-So," she raised a drink dispassionately, "give 'em hell."

…

…

Quinn crouched.

Fingers bending a pair of bobby pins into the shapes she required.

It was slow work, picking locks, and usually it was a fun pastime- really, more of a dorky hobby than anything, from when she was too young to think about anything other than how cool it would be to know. Despite being virtually inapplicable in literally every moment of everyday life. Honestly, she was surprised she even remembered. But, being something she'd only had time to practice when Ace wasn't breaking all her pins, the added on stress of actually committing a crime was enough to have her hands fumbling. Even if it was just breaking-and-entering, and they definitely deserved it.

Quinn knew her sense of morality was not… the best. But this was like going from zero to one hundred and she was more than a little rueful.

The rain dripped in her eyes and made it hard to see, forcing her to blink wildly in a useless attempt to push the drops away. They clung to her eyelashes and, wiping a hand over her face, did little more than to smear it before more fell. It made it increasingly hard to break into the storm cellar; a back entrance to the building that was typically ignored, at least according to Cona in what limited knowledge she actually had.

Barely anything or not, the only defense it had was a pair of wooden doors, chained handles, and the clunky, rusted over lock. Proof that she seemed to be telling the truth that it didn't get a lot of attention.

It reminded Quinn of every storm cellar she had ever seen from movies and television, never actually having seen one in real life.

Cona lowered herself down, next to her, and watched Quinn work with a barely held fascination. There was only so much she could do to help at this point and she half-wished that she'd kept her trap shut when she'd offered her services. But, she'd never seen anyone pick a lock before, so she was trying to look on the bright side of things.

Unfortunately, Cona was a very negative person so that didn't last very long.

"Why am I with you?"

It didn't help that Quinn was refusing to acknowledge her.

A pin hanging loosely from her mouth as she looked the lock over, not even glancing up. Honestly, if she had a hammer or something, she was pretty sure they could just break it. The lock was so old and so brown with rust and wear that she felt like she was getting tetanus just from looking.

Cona talked on.

"I could've gone with your Captain or- or Kat."

"No."

She pulled the pin from her mouth and shoved it into the keyhole with way more force than Cona expected. Making her flinch away at the aggressive move and grimace at the sound of rust and grime scraping around from inside the lock. Was this a power move? Cona didn't… Cona didn't know what to think but she thought Quinn was doing it on purpose.

(She was.)

But, Quinn also had to. She wasn't even sure she'd be able to pick it. It was so deteriorated. Just getting the pin inside was a bitch and a half.

"Why not? You…" Cona stammered, trailing off as Quinn finally glanced up. She had a bit of mud smeared across her brow. And, with her hair sticking to her face and getting in her eyes, the beginnings of first light on the horizons catching her gaze, her glower turned three times more intense and borderline demon-like.

Cona wished it'd stay darker. She didn't like looking at her, in the light she was afraid to even see.

She bowed her head, eyes firmly fixed on the space between her feet.

"Need I remind you," she growled through another pin, "that you tried to kill Kat?"

She tried to save face. "Okay. I- Then your Captain!"

"No. I don't trust that for multiple reasons."

Ace was not… a trusting person.

She means, of course not. Quinn knew that much without even having to have met him in real life.

Anyone who'd grown up like him would _not_ have the ability to trust right off the bat, much less with someone that was proven to be a threat. Quinn could assume that it'd been a while since he'd had anyone to actively distrust though. And, Quinn got the feeling that, now that he was free and up and about in the world, while he still regarded people with suspicion, he was also hoping to get the best out of them.

She thinks it has more than a little something to do with Luffy's influence, but Quinn is also inclined to think it has something to do with a, very relatable, _tiredness._

There was only so much time you could spend dealing with paranoia and suspicion before you just got sick of it and stopped caring whether or not people were bad, consequences be damned.

And Quinn didn't trust that sort of attitude. Even if she was beholden to it herself sometimes. It was dangerous and liable to end with either the short end of the stick or a knife in your back.

Quinn expected that Ace would put a stop to Cona if he saw her up to something, but she didn't think he'd care enough to actively and closely watch what she got up to. At least, not in a way that Quinn would be satisfied with it and certainly not enough that she felt she could trust him to properly watch over her. Unless Cona was doing something to threaten the people he cared about, like Kat or Luffy, then Ace would probably be extremely blaise about it.

Adding onto that fact, she just didn't trust Cona to not pull anything if she got the chance.

Quinn would rather keep any and all interactions with her to a minimum. And, if she absolutely had to come along, which- _ugh,_ Captain orders -she'd rather she be the one on constant watch. Even if she knew the others could take care of themselves just fine.

She didn't want to get in trouble. They were pirates but… come on. Celestial Dragons? She'd rather they not have the slightest chance of catching wind of their existence.

...And Quinn was from _another world_. She couldn't help the horrible scenarios running through her head if they ever found out, it almost promoted a physically ill response. No matter how slight the possibility of them actually finding out was- it was just something she didn't want to think about.

Unfortunately she couldn't help _but_ to.

She didn't want any kind of attention.

Even though she _knew_ that Ace would eventually get a bounty. And, presumably, Kat would too. Maybe even her, as pitiful of an amount as it would be, Quinn didn't think she was mentally prepared for that.

Just. No.

She felt something move inside the lock.

_"But…"_

Cona let a whine bubble out. Low and quiet.

It was impossibly uncomfortable. Being around Quinn. Everytime Cona tried to engage in even the bare minimum of conversation, even if it was just business, she was either brutally ignored or quelled into silence by Quinn's dark looks. She wouldn't even explain the stupid gold mark she'd wiped on her hand. And- while she knew she deserved it- She did!- she was almost certain that she'd be better off with one of the other two. As terrifying as they were.

With Quinn it felt like she was going to be left for dead if the opportunity ever arose.

It was enough to have her rigid and tense with paranoia. But was it really paranoia when they were actually out to get you?

"You _hate_ me."

"I never said that."

The bobby pin was screaming in protest.

Quinn was afraid that it would snap under the pressure but she pressed on anyway. It was hard to be careful when she had to force it like this.

"I can see your face. It's not comforting."

"Oh, sorry, I'll try and change it for you." She snorted, voice dripping with sarcasm. "What- You want me to say that I'm going to protect you? There's nothing to worry about? I'll forget everything and it'll all be alright if we just stick together! Nothing could possibly go wrong." She knocked on wood. "Psh, as if."

"It- You've been like this even before what I tried to pull!" Cona accused. "You didn't like me from the moment you saw me."

"Don't take it personally. I don't like most people I first meet."

Quinn may not have seen the whole situation leading up to Kat punting a guy through a building but, if she'd had to hazard a guess, she'd say that it was likely entirely Cona's fault in the first place. Something told her it was a pretty good guess.

"Well, why not?"

"Seems like you're taking it personally."

"No, I-"

It really wasn't anything deep.

Quinn just didn't like meeting new people and barely liked talking to people she actually knew. Other than the few friends she had growing up, there hadn't been any reason to enjoy it. Even then, with people she actually liked and got along with, there were moments where she just wanted to curl up and not say anything for days on end.

She was the sort of friend who, when the sidewalk wasn't big enough to fit a group, she'd be the one to fall behind. It wasn't a designation or something done out of malice. But it was as if she was always rushing to try and keep up. Sometimes, the lack of need to speak- to be a part of anything, was a breath of fresh air that had her calming down and taking a moment to recompose herself. Most of the time though, she was left alone. A piece of a group that wasn't really needed.

Uncomfortable and awkward and shifting around in her own mess of a self.

"You shouldn't. It's more of a me thing." It borderline sounded reassuring but Cona thought that was wrong. It was more like Quinn was talking to herself rather than to her. "Didn't like Ace or Kat all that much when we first met either."

"I- Really?"

Cona almost couldn't believe that. They hadn't struck her as the best of friends but they still struck her as friends. Companions who actually liked each other's company.

"That said…"

A ship was no sidewalk.

There was no need to push someone out and have them walk behind. They were equally uncomfortable stuck in a small space with little to no allowance for freedom of movement. It was a shitty situation for them all.

She almost resented it, to be perfectly honest. It was so far outside her comfort zone and realm of possible thought that it felt like the only thing she could do was abhor it. That particular zeal had lost its luster quickly.

There was only so much you could hate before you just got tired of it.

In that respect, she could understand Ace.

And it was increasingly getting harder and harder to pretend that she didn't like being part of a group that wasn't trying to shut her away or push her to the side.

Not even when they were on land. A tiny part of her curdles with a selfish victory, born of greed and an appetite that was nowhere close to being sated, because she was the _first to join_. There was no way that she'd be pushed aside when she was the first.

Or, she liked to pretend that she was convinced of that, and that it was actually true.

"I like them just fine now."

The lock clicks in her hand. Success.

It falls open with a crumble and she untangles the chain with dust covered hands.

"So I'm not going to tolerate anyone messing with them."

Cona swallowed as she watched her open the doors to the storm cellar and jump inside. That comment was definitely pointed at her that time. She could not catch a break today, could she?

She sighed and quickly followed after.

-0-

Ace and Kat were still stuck in the rain. Nearby the building, watching a few dark shadows walk past the windows. Huh, Ace had figured that everybody would be asleep around this time, Quinn had assumed so too- he guessed they were early risers then.

Whatever, he yawned into his free hand, holding back a sneeze.

He was sure it'd all work out.

"Hey…" Kat rubbed his arm, flicking a hand to push rain out of the way. He could only hold it for a minute before he'd have to do it again but at least it felt like he was helping. "Thanks for helping me calm down earlier. I… think I was losing control back there."

"It's cool." He fails to hold back the sneeze, rubbing his nose. "-che! I know what that feels like. Don't worry about it."

They were hanging out under the canopy of trees. He thinks if he squinted he could just barely make out the shapes of Quinn and Cona disappearing into the storm cellar and closing the doors behind them, their shapes getting more pronounced as the sun rose past the hill.

"You do?"

"Huh?"

"...Lose control?"

Oh, right. He'd only been half paying attention to their conversation.

"Yeah, used to all the time."

Heh, he says _used_ to. Really, it doesn't feel like much has changed.

Ace is pretty sure that he's been stuck in a state of eternal rage since the moment he was born and by this point he'd just gotten way better at putting a cap on it-

There was just so, so many things to be angry at.

Maybe not the most healthy of methods but, eh. What did he know?

Kat felt his shoulders slump in relief. "Oh. Okay. Sorry, I-" He'd just gotten so emotional that he'd let his Fishman Jujutsu get out of hand. Enough so that he'd scared himself a little bit.

He didn't think he _really_ was a monster but-

Moments like that? It really made him think that he could be someday.

"It… kinda feels like I'm running away from it." He admits, and blows warm air into his hands. He doesn't know how Ace isn't freezing, especially with his shirt open like that. "Just burying it underneath. I don't think you're supposed to do that."

" _Er._ "

Ah, he'd been called out.

Ace looked away, making a face.

Before shrugging and shaking his head, "Nah! It's not running away. _I'd_ never run away."

"But…"

"Besides, I think Quinn does it too. And she seems fine!"

Kat paused. Unable to help but think back to when Ace had gone missing and Quinn had slowly begun to break down slower over each day, her face blank and words becoming more forced with every passing hour. The fact that she'd kept it together, way better than he had, had been immensely supportive at the time. But she'd seemed… more than a little off once they'd refound Ace.

More than a little awkward and scarred by the situation. And Kat would be lying if he'd said that he hadn't caught her staring out at sea more than once with an empty look on her face, before glancing at Ace and seemingly reevaluating her own thoughts.

He didn't think that was normal but, then again, Ace had known her longer. So he was probably right.

"Ah- okay."

Kat hummed and nodded slowly. It was an odd bit of assurance but, he figured, that if both his crewmates did it too then it was probably fine. And, Ace was right, once a few days had passed, Quinn seemed like she was fine. She only stared out at sea with a creepy expression for half the amount of time as she did before!

He rubbed his face.

Maybe he should ask her about it?

The night seemed to pass into morning before their very eyes and the sky grew warm with the sudden pink of the sun in the far distance. It was still raining noisily and he was beginning to get tired of brushing the rain away from them to keep Ace from getting wet. They were still waiting, much longer than they'd thought they'd be, but not enough to grow worried about it.

The silence between them was beginning to get annoying though.

And Ace turned around, looking disgruntled. Latching onto the first thing that got him curious. "By the way, why are you still wearing that stupid thing?"

He was quick to realize what Ace was talking about and was doubly quick in trying to cover it up. Kat pointed at his sick mask, the object of his attention. Trying to pretend that there was absolutely _nothing_ wrong and that he was confused why he'd even pointed it out in the first place. "Oh, this? I-I just don't want to get sick and-"

Ace rolled his eyes. "Bullshit. It's so no one sees your face, isn't it?"

"I-" He trailed off. He'd been had. "Is it _that_ obvious?"

Ace gave him a look that made him feel really stupid.

Like.

Really, _really_ goddamn stupid.

In fact, he felt himself squeak and bury his head in his hands, face reddening. He'd really thought it'd work, he should've known it was a dumb idea. Ace watched, waiting expectantly for an answer. Kat swallowed. It felt like there was a ball in his throat. "I… thought that it'd keep us out of trouble. That no one would mess with me if they didn't know what I am. Even if I'm just half a fishman, that doesn't stop humans from seeing the gills first and the rest second."

"...I don't think that worked out all that well."

"Yeah, no shit."

Ace snorted, laughing. It fell into a chuckle with him clapping a hand on Kat's back. "You know, anybody who matters won't care that you're half-fishman or that you've got gills. _We_ won't."

Even though he can't see it, Kat still gives him an awkward grin beneath the mask. "I know, I know. Thanks." He shrugs the hand away. "But look at where we are now? It's just causing one big problem for all of us."

"They're just assholes Kat. They may have thought they were in the right because yadda-yadda," Ace mimed a hand talking and Kat smiled for real, "but they don't matter."

"Then why are we helping them? They clearly matter to someone." Like the people they're protecting.

"I don't know what you're talking about. We're just here to get even."

"Right, right… that's the only reason."

"It is!"

With the attitude that Ace was putting out, Kat was inclined to believe him. That they cared enough about him, just him, to go through all of this. And, a silly smile had his cheeks hurting, instead of a bitten tongue for once.

Still, there was one thing bothering him.

"...Hey, why'd you agree to let Cona come along? I know she's a part of the plan but Quinn only found a role for her afterwards." A role that they could all agree that none of them liked. Especially because it could potentially put Quinn in a dangerous situation. She'd been rather adamant that she'd make it work though, so Kat tried not to worry too much.

Ace shrugged. He didn't really have any particular reason.

"It just seemed like she really wanted to make up for herself."

"You sure?"

He laughed, "I mean, I guess. I'm not the best judge of character. What could go wrong?" Ace frowned then, and sideyed him. "Does my choice bother you?"

"N-No, no. I let you choose after all." He didn't really have a leg to stand on anymore, not when he gave up his chance to make his own choice. But no matter how much better giving it up had felt, it still made him a teansy bit anxious. "Just- Quinn seemed really worried about it?" He tried.

Thankfully, that seemed to veer the subject away from himself and Kat nearly sighed in relief.

"Quinn seems like she worries a lot, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, I don't know why though."

Ace then pouted. "I hope she gives the signal soon. I want to go have fun and beat these guys up. I haven't gotten to test my fire on anyone yet!"

"Ah, you might burn down the building though."

He waved Kat off. "Ey, I'm sure it'll work itself out. You can put out the flames can't you?"

"I-" He perked up suddenly. Was this his first official order as a pirate? He felt his eyes grow a little glossy. _"I would be honored, Captain."_

"It's not _that_ big of a deal."

Really, they had no idea what could possibly worry Quinn. They got themselves covered.

" _Ugh!_ " Both Ace and Kat nearly jumped out of their skins at the sounds of someone facepalming behind them and letting out such a long suffering sigh that it was borderline offensive. " _Really_? Really?!"

They winced at the hiss and the eye twitching at them.

"No clue?! No possible idea why there might be something, even _slightly_ , worrisome?"

"Oh, it's…"

"...the kid."

Indeed it was.

It was Salt.

She didn't give them the chance to say anything more before she was speaking up, arms crossed over her chest and chin pushed out in raw defiance.

"I said I could help. So I'm going to help, whether you all like it or not."

She glared.

She was done leaving people room to argue with her.

-0-

Salt had been dragged away from the conversation. An unwelcome part to a situation that she was already embroiled in, the only thing holding her back was her age. And she had half a mind to tear a new one into the bartender, and everyone else who agreed with her.

_Especially those pirates…_

But, Salt kept her lips glued into a firm line, refusing to do anything but glare.

She didn't think they'd even try to hear her out anymore and she-

She wasn't stupid. She knew she was too aggressive for her own good but… she couldn't help it.

"I know you're passionate about this, Salt." The bartender sighed at her and she looked away. "You have perfectly good reason to be. But you're too headstrong for your own good. You don't have the strength of your brother to back up your words."

"I know that!" She snapped.

Ah, she spoke by accident.

Damn it.

"Then, if you know that, why do you keep acting out like this?"

She made sure there was an iron-hard clasp on her mouth this time. She wasn't going to make the same mistake again. They'd just try and turn it around on her and change her mind.

The bartender sighed. "Always like this. When you hear something you don't like, you just refuse to even listen to it."

She wanted to say-

_Because I know I'm right!_

But she also knows that the bartender thinks she's right and it's useless to try and change people stuck in their ways. Especially when she didn't know the right words to convey it. Her older siblings were always better spoken than she was- she just got frustrated and angry and lost her words before she could say them.

Salt didn't think she would ever be able to try out for a debate team.

Instead, in response, she felt her face turn red.

And watched the bartender sigh and place a glass in front of her, filling it with juice. "Just calm down for now, Salt. I know how it was when I was your age, always wanting to help out. But sometimes it's best to just leave it to the adults."

She's about to fail again but she manages to reel it in.

Salt was pretty sure that the boy with the sick mask on was only two or three years older than her. And she was pretty sure the Pirate Captain himself wasn't much older than that, either.

"Yes, but they're much stronger."

Ah, shoot. She must have muttered something under her breath.

Salt buried her head in her arms and doesn't touch the juice, at least, not when she knows the bartender can see her. Too stubborn for her own good.

The "Plan" gets going behind her. And she tries to hide the fact that she's more than a little impressed by what that pirate lady managed to come up with. There was something about her setting up a signal in a window to tell her crewmates when to attack, but only once her and Cona had successfully sabotaged all the communication in-and-out of the building that they could find.

The time ticks on and she remains in her seat.

Eyes closed and half asleep but with one ear open, just in case, because otherwise she thinks she would have missed hearing the pirate lady lean up against the table next to her. Rubbing at her face and temples and looking more tired and less ferocious and evil than she had been before- Salt thinks she didn't even realize that they were really there.

She feigned sleep in response.

And the bartender stared at the womans frown over the lip of her drink, pretending that the alcohol didn't obscure her view severely as she stole one of many large sips. Swirling the glasses contents and listening to the ice clink against the sides of the cup.

"You know, I know your type."

Quinn glanced up.

"... _Oh_?"

More than a little bemused. The response was hesitant and curious and annoyed all the same.

An amalgamation of emotions conveyed in a single sound that had the bartender snorting and throwing back her glass like it was a shot, leaving nothing but what remained of the ice that hadn't melted by this point. Quinn watched with a raised brow over her shoulder. Waiting for the explanation or the apparent attempt at interpreting her.

She was honestly wondering what she'd come up with.

"Always have your head held so high and mighty. Proud and glaring, up on your high horse. People like you are… all the same. Stuck in one spot and going to make sure nobody ever gets in your way." She drawled. Her voice didn't contain a slur, but Quinn would be willing to bet that she was drunk. She didn't have the eyes of a woman who was sober. "Wonder what sort of nasty thoughts are going on inside that little head of yours?"

"Oh, all sorts of horrible things. Let your imagination flow." Quinn felt herself huff out a laugh, a smile quirking itself across her face. "Figured all that out, huh?"

"Ah, _you_ and your kind of people." She spat. Briefly, Quinn let herself be confused- _My kind_? Before chalking it up to the woman's intoxication. "Doesn't matter how high up you are, you could be the lowest of the low by their standards. But you all act the same. Thinking the world revolves around you and that anybody else is beneath you."

"And whose standards is that?"

"Nobles, of course. You formally educated lot are always trying to figure things out, making plans to fuck everything up, trying to look better and smarter than everyone else."

"Right. And just because I'm educated I _must_ be a noble…"

"That's how it works here."

"I'm not from here."

"Doesn't matter. Every place in this world works the same."

"Again. I'm not from _here._ "

The bartender rolled her eyes. "See? Getting smart with me. As if where you're from makes a difference, people like you are the same no matter where they come from."

"I think you'll find that there are many places, even in this world, who don't define themselves by the standards that you are aware of."

Another drink was placed in front of her and she prepared the beverage with practiced finesse.

It's slow and methodical movements.

Her gaze flicks up.

"...Wonder how long those boys of yours are going to let you stick around?"

Quinn flinched.

The bartender smirked.

"They… They're not like that."

Quinn finds her teeth piercing her bottom lip. She doesn't like the sudden change in topic.

"Oh please," she raises the glass to her lips, "once they find out who you are, do you really think they'd let you stick around? After you've hidden secrets from them and betrayed their trust?"

Salt peaks an eye open and catches sight of her face. She, uh. She looks like she's trying not to tear up actually and Salt doesn't know what to do with that sort of information. Then, she blinks. And, while wetness remains, it's surrounded by her face hardening and her remeeting the bartender's gaze head on.

" _I said_ , they're not like that. And you don't know what you're talking about."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't." She sips at her drink. "Are you really going to take that chance?"

"I've always been good at betting."

"Oh, a gambling woman?" She snorts. "Who would've thought you'd see that from a _pirate_ … Heh. I guess you wouldn't put any worth in my words anyways."

She remained silent.

"I'm sure I'm just another nameless character in your story, aren't I?"

Quinn breathed out slowly.

"...Something like that."

The bartender finishes her drink and Quinn pushes off the counter with more force than necessary. Salt raises her head and watches her leave, the older woman wrapping her hands around her arms and squeezing them with such force that she thinks she may have drawn blood beneath her sleeves, the odd exchange leaving Salt confused and bewildered.

"Thing is," the bartender sets her glass on the table without a sound, "even the nameless characters have responsibilities and actions they have to take. Despite being in the background."

Salt found herself scowling.

"-You may be okay with remaining nameless, but I'm not!"

The bartender just gave a small laugh.

"Yes, I'm not surprised you'd think like that."

There's something cold that dances in her eyes and Salt grimaces as she jumps from her stool. The pirates will be leaving soon. She can see Quinn pick up their umbrella before heading over to her Captain, who stands in the doorway, an odd glow flashing every few seconds that she can't quite see.

She has to get ready if she wants to follow.

-0-

It's such a shift.

The room seems to swallow sound.

Even the rain that peppers the storm cellar close by feels like it's miles away and steadily getting further. The sudden stale air, hot with years of dust and dirt, has her wiping away the dampness settling over her limbs and shaking with restlessness. Quinn hides a shiver. It's dark enough that the night looks bright by comparison, and her eyes struggle to adjust, making shapes leap out unnaturally at them and play tricks. But she knows it's only unkempt supplies and untouched boxes.

She sniffs.

It's smelly with must and age, like a fresh breeze hadn't blown through the place in years.

Quinn was guessing that one hadn't.

"It's quiet…"

She manages to refrain from saying _too quiet_ and looks around for any signs of life in the darkness. As far as she can see, which is admittedly not much, there's nothing. And Cona nervously saddles up next to her.

"See? I told you. Safe."

She nearly snorts.

Quinn doubts it's even close to safe. Safe is being back on their ship with Ace and Kat, chatting nonsensical things and not caring about the world or any of its inhabitants- this? This was hardly safe.

"Whatever."

They slowly pick their way through the darkness. Quinn pretends not to hear Cona's horrified gasp when either a rat or a mouse scuttles over her foot. It takes a greater effort than she thought it would, especially when Cona accidentally knocks a mop over and sends her sliding to catch it. Breathing a sigh of relief and growling at the pathetic sounding _sorry_ that she gives. Still, it's a relatively simple process. Made even simpler when they make it to the stairs leading to the first and main floor. It's easy steps climbing up the old, rickety wood that creaks beneath their feet, loud enough that she's almost afraid that it might have disturbed someone.

But, Quinn leans against the wall next to the door and checks down both ends of the hallway, seeing nothing. There wasn't even a light on underneath one of the many doors.

And she can hear the sounds of people snoring- loudly.

Cona whispers in her ear, "This is where most of them sleep. The leaders office is on the top floor, I think. The snails should be either here or one floor up."

"Okay," she whispers back, just as quiet, nodding to the sounds of nothing but Cona and her, "remember the plan?"

"Of course, how could I forget?"

She hadn't given her the chance to.

Well, Quinn licked her lips, she thinks she had good reason to be so high strung about it.

If anything went wrong, Quinn had thought to install a Plan B, but it was less than stellar and she'd rather not have to resort to it. Ace and Kat would've hated it if she'd told them, at least, she's pretty sure they would. It's more than a little cowardly and doesn't involve them much. For now, though, Cona and her were to creep around unnoticed, while everyone still slept, and eliminate all forms of communication they could get their hands on.

Hopefully, it'll be all of them.

And Cona would have to navigate them around.

Which she was more than a little leery of but she really didn't have a choice if they wanted to get this done in a timely manner so Ace and Kat could come in. She crossed her fingers and prayed that they wouldn't get bored and come rushing in before they'd finished what they'd set out to do.

There's a creak from somewhere further down the hall and it has them both jumping out of their skin.

Cona stammers, "What? Who is it?"

"Shut up, I don't know."

A door had opened and she could see the shadowy figure of a person walking out of their room, yawning into his hand and apparently none the wiser to their location. She raises a finger to her mouth in the universal symbol for shush and listens to him grow closer to their hiding space. Cona sucks in a shuddering breath.

They're getting closer.

The floor creaks beneath their feet.

If they stay silent, Quinn is pretty sure he'll walk straight past them without seeing them. This late at night- ah, it should be 'this early in the morning', shouldn't it? -just waking up and walking in the dark? She'd be willing to bet that his eyes weren't even open. The rational thought process didn't help to quiet her quivering heart though.

He's almost next to them.

They're quiet.

And then Quinn feels hands grasping her arms and ripping her from her place on the wall. "Auh-?!" She gasps, wincing at the sharp fingernails that dig into her skin beneath cloth. A foot knocks her ankle and sends her knees knocking with the force of the sudden shove, tossing her into a heap in the middle of the hallway.

She's crashing and her knees are banged up and she hears the man let out a shout.

"Gyeh-! What the hell- _Cona_! What are you doing-?!"

She falls silent. It's too late to try and fix this.

They suddenly weren't alone anymore.

The lights turned on.

She squeezes her eyes shut, throwing her hands up to block it. It was blinding.

Cona stammers from where she'd been standing before. A high-pitched laugh drawing her to the attention of everyone, "Hahaha! With you breathing down my neck this whole time I almost thought I'd mess this up-"

" _What?_ " Quinn hisses.

She tries to open her eyes but all she can see is burning white and red. She'd gotten too used to the dark and she was paying for it now.

"-Did you really think I would ally myself with pirates?!"

It's unfortunate that she has her eyes closed. Because Quinn doesn't get to see the foot kick out and nail her in the chin violently. Feeling her body temporarily freeze in shock, biting her tongue and blood souring her mouth. "Erk-!" She collapses on her side. Stars filling her blackened and sun spotted vision. "Y-You b-bitch-!" There's a great shuffling of people from opening doors and, even if it was too much to open her eyes and see properly, Quinn knew that this wasn't going to end well for her at all.

Damn it.

So much for planning.

"Fu-!"

Before she can so much as fire off the curse or even scramble to pick herself up, there's hands pulling her arms behind her back and she's facedown with a knee between her shoulder blades. The ground pressed to her cheek, through spitting blood and blurred vision, she can pick out men's laughter taking light in the room. And someone is breathing grossly at the back of her neck-

Quinn yelps.

If she struggles, she thinks her arms may break.

They're so much stronger than her and there's more to hold her down if she attempts to break free. It's not a welcome thought, to give up, but she does so. Falling limp.

She's still gritting her teeth and snarling all the same.

"What is this? Betrayer! Did you plan this from the beginning-?" She can feel her eyes dilate unnaturally and her neck feels like a guitar whose strings had been cut, it's such a struggle to even lift her head that she's already feeling tears prick from the muscle strain. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted you!"

Cona steps in front, a shaky but triumphant smirk looking down on her. The men don't try to hold her down like they do with Quinn, in fact, they don't even try to touch her. And Quinn attempts a bite through bloodied teeth, only to yelp when her hair is pulled- strands breaking under heavy fingers- and her throat burns when it's thrown into an uncomfortable bend that makes it hard to breath. Cona crouches down next to her, listening to the raspy breaths and watching the blood begin to drip down her chin from her, now frighteningly red, lips.

A hand snakes over her shorts.

Quinn tenses.

"I'll be taking my knife back, pirate."

She manages to spit blood in her face. "I should've killed you when I had the chance…!"

It's petty and unnecessary but it has her feeling better for a moment. Unfortunately, that moment's quickly stolen when a hand grips the back of her head and slams her face into the floor. "A-Ah-" Quinn chokes.

I-It _hurts._

Cona purrs and wipes the blood from her face away, there's cruel laughter lighting up around them. "But you _didn't_." The knife has been unhooked from her belt and she's stealing it back, tucking it away where no one can see it. "And look at you now."

Quinn feels her body strain with trying to stay conscious, all she can do is turn her head and focus on breathing. It's labored and painful and her throat constricts, leaving her coughing and whimpering. She probably doesn't look pretty. Cheek pressed so hard into the floor that even the old wood is starting to leave an imprint on her skin.

"Hey, I'm keeping our deal, remember?" Cona calls over the room.

And a large, meaty hand lands on her shoulder and pulls her to her feet. He's pushed past the other men in the room to find their scene. Cona grins to the boisterous laugh that almost shakes the room with it's sheer intensity.

Dimly, Quinn thinks that it doesn't even come close to Garps intimidating guffaws.

"I can see that. Ah, good to know that you girls always make sure to keep your end of the bargain." His hand squeezes her shoulder painfully. "I don't know why I was starting to get worried when I didn't hear anything back!"

To Quinn, the man was a giant.

Easily pushing nine- no, maybe ten feet, and with enough weight that he was almost the same width. The hall seems to fill with his stature and he's bent so as to not touch the ceiling.

In this world, even in the East Blue, she wouldn't be surprised if the size was normal.

A meaty hand snaps his fingers.

Quinn screams. "AA _AA_ -"

She wonders if Ace and Kat can hear. She doesn't want them to.

It rips past her lungs with a ferocity she didn't know she had in her when the knee already stuck in her digs. Seemingly for no other reason than to cause excruciating pain. It feels like a knife being spun into her back. It pops. " _S-Stop_ -!" There's a moment where she thinks he might really break something but with another snap of fingers the grip loosens enough that she's gasping in the closest thing to relief that she can manage, trying to hold in her whimpers and tears with mixed success.

Weakly, she mumbles, "...this... is all your fault, Cona…" A sadistic chuckle, weak and humorless, bubbles past her lips when she sees the satisfying flinch and Cona look away. " _Kehe_ he…"

But Quinn didn't get to enjoy the sight for long before she was being ripped onto stumbling feet and pulled, shambling down the hall. The large man- the leader -hanging off of Cona, popping a bottle open with his teeth, gesturing somewhere down the way with a nonchalant hand. A look on his face telling her that he could give less than a shit about Quinn, "Tie her up and lock her in the backroom. Oh-"

He grinned wickedly down at Cona.

"And keep a few guards on her. We wouldn't want her to get away like our dear Cona here did."

Cona returns the grin with that shaky smile of her own.

And Quinn is deliriously cursing them all out in her head. She doesn't get much of a chance to say anything, in too much pain and busy being dragged away, but she knows she's going to be beyond bruised tomorrow. The thought is cut off when she's being tossed, once again, and her back slams against a wall, leaving her groaning and unable to stop the ropes from tying her down.

Cona felt a relieved sigh fall out of her.

"Finally," she mumbled, "I got rid of her. She was… crazy suspicious. I only got her to come in because she thought it was her idea." She'd been worried that it wouldn't work. "Sorry, for waking you all up."

The boss eyed her with his own suspicious gaze, it was much less than what she'd gotten from Quinn funnily enough, before he was shrugging and patting her on the back. "Don't worry about it. So long as you keep your end of the deal, we won't be throwing you back there with her." He rubs his nose, leery and unattractive. Cona shrinks back. "Though, the factory could always use more workers, you sure you don't want to volunteer? I've heard-" He licks his lips. "-it's an _honorable_ job to help people get back in the workforce. Much better than where you work right now, don't you think?"

He guffaws.

A bit of a nervous sweat begins to gather on her brow and she laughs awkwardly. It's hard to make it not sound forced. Quickly saying, "No, no, not for me, but I'm sure the pirates will love it just fine in my stead."

It has the uproarious laugh once again breaking out and rearing its ugly head. Sounding sadistic and cruel to her ears, it makes her glad that it's not directed towards her.

Cona is instantly reminded why she hated being in his presence, carefully sliding herself away from his grip. He was just… so impossibly loud. To the point it was scary. It didn't help that he liked to act all buddy-buddy but, at the same time, try to squeeze the life out of her until she practically couldn't breathe anymore. Emphasizing words and underlying threats with an intensity that had a shiver of fear running up her spine.

Even in helping them get what they want she wasn't safe.

"Was all that _really_ necessary?"

She changes the subject, not wanting thoughts to linger. And points to the red blood, still fresh and staining the wood.

It's enough to have her making sure to take another step away from him.

"Why- Do you care?"

"No!" She quickly swallows. "But I'd rather not piss them off more than necessary, those pirates were… scary. That's why it took so long to bring them."

He scoffs and chugs at his bottle of beer, meaty hands waving away her concerns. "Not scarier than me! Bah, and we've got to make sure to break them somehow. The factory likes it. Makes it easy to get them to stay and work, they'll have to- if they want money to pay for medicine. You know how it is." She winces because she does. Thinking back on the injuries that Salt had received in the time she'd been caught and that she would've gotten too, if she hadn't been smart enough to get away when she got the chance. "Speaking of those pirates, where is that other replacement?"

"...Outside, somewhere." She looked out the window and into the rainy night. "They're waiting on a signal that the woman was supposed to give them," Cona scowled. "I'm not sure what it is, she refused to tell me. But they're close by."

The bottle has been knocked back entirely and he lets it clatter to the floor once he makes sure there isn't even a single drop left, uncaring of the mess it may cause. Heavy shoulders shrug. "Ah, well, they'll come looking for her eventually. And, if not, I'll send some men out in a bit to go catch them." A large finger is stabbed at one of his said-men, "You!"

He jumps, standing to attention.

"S-Sir!"

"Watch Cona. Make sure she doesn't leave. Not until we've got the last of the pirates captured- you killed the one you were supposed to, didn't you?"

"I'm not going to run away."

"Ha, like I believe you. You're the _collateral._ "

She purses her lips and her brows draw down in anger. Cona may have helped get Quinn captured but she was not going to be referred to as some tool that was there for nothing more than to assist their goals. "...Yes." She lied slowly, carefully. "We killed him and said it was your fault. That's why they wanted to come here."

He nods and leaves, teeth shining.

His giant steps thump and thunder and it takes awhile for them to grow quiet. He sounded like a troll.

Cona was left eyeing the man posted to watch her with a dainty sniff. He didn't seem to know how to act, standing awkwardly close and eyes roaming from her, to the room, and then back again. "Honestly." Cona rolled her eyes. "If it wasn't for me, they probably would've succeeded in screwing all of you over in your sleep." He doesn't look like he believes her but she doesn't care too much. "Now. The least you can do is take me somewhere where I can be alone."

The 'guard' opens and closes his mouth, unhelpfully.

…

…

Quinn curses.

This is such bullshit.

Here she was, once again, imprisoned.

God, she wondered if she should be used to it by now. "Ugh…" At least, when she'd been thrown in jail by the Marines and Roddie, she'd been able to move around. This time there wasn't even a mocking semblance of freedom. She was almost completely immobile, back to the wall, bindings impossibly tight. Rope had bound her hands behind her back and her knees and ankles had been closely tied together, making her look like and about as useful as a particularly pissed off worm.

Not-

 _Not_ something she ever wanted to depict herself as.

Quinn wriggled.

"Hey!"

One of the guards slams his hand down on the table in the middle of the room, in order to gain her attention; it works. But Quinn is so engrossed in the pain and chaffing of the rope and too enraged to even pretend that she's afraid of his poor attempt at intimidation. Her own glare, fixed on her bloodied face, has him sitting back down in his own seat.

"S-Stop moving around, we're stuck awake because of you! This is your own fault!"

He tries to order.

Quinn's not having any of it.

"Shut the hell up." He opens his mouth to do the exact opposite and her face has him stopping in his tracks. Quinn didn't think she was all that scary but, hey, she'll take what she can get. Besides, she's been getting in a lot of practice lately. "You're _not_ my Captain. So don't you dare tell me what to do."

The other guard snorts, like he finds this situation funny, and begins shuffling a deck of cards he'd pulled out from somewhere. "Don't bother with her, we're only supposed to watch her. Best to not talk." He grimaces. "You know how Cona got out, right? Ran away and then managed to flirt her way out of her bounds and get even further."

Yeah, that's not the method that Quinn had been seeking to employ anytime soon but it was good to know it was off the table so she didn't have to suffer the embarrassment of trying.

She wriggles.

And then stopped when her head let out such a throb it bubbled like a wave over her temples.

That- did _not_ feel good.

But Quinn was used to pain, was used to working through it, and working with it, so she sucked in a quick breath. Held it. Let the throbbing ride itself out for a long few seconds before she was releasing the breath. It had her entire body hurting. But she picked out the worse pain and focused on it-

It was a testament to her tolerance that she didn't immediately cry out.

Eyes closing with her whimpers, she sucked in a deep breath again. Holding it. She just needed to focus and get used to the worst of it. Then she could force herself to push past. It was the only thing she had going for her at the moment and she resolved to do it. And, when she let the breath finally fall from her lips, it had been almost a minute that had passed.

"Man, I frickin' hate Cona…"

She growled.

It still hurts. Just as much as it did before, but she was better prepared for pushing it away.

This was just a bad situation all around. Trapped, in a small back room with nothing but a table and a few storage containers. And the two dumbasses meant to guard her were playing _cards._ The second one hadn't even shuffled them properly, having fumbled with the deck and even dropping a few on the floor as he was doing it. Quinn felt anger bubble out as she watched them.

She couldn't help it.

" _Really-?_!" This was ridiculous. "You're playing _cards?!_ "

The response she gets back is sarcastic: "You're _still_ struggling to get off your bindings?"

Quinn puffs out her cheeks and pretends like the throbbing in her face doesn't make her eyes start to water. Whatever tears she hadn't shed were forcibly sucked back in with a shaky breath and, quite pathetically in her opinion, she snaps out a quick, "Go away!" Not expecting it to work at all.

"Wow, what an attempt."

Okay, Quinn could appreciate some good sarcasm, but right now? It was not the time for it.

A quick wiggle has the ropes tightening and her slumping, sliding to the floor. There's the beginning of a numbness to her finger tips and it's not just an assumption anymore that the tightness has started to block off her blood flow. She thinks they might already be turning purple.

"...This isn't going to work, is it?"

"Nope."

She didn't even expect a response but she thinks she might have preferred it without one.

He places a card down, then another, then rapidly there's three other cards being placed down and suddenly he's making a face as his card opponent is winning. The expression only gets more and more angry as the time ticks on and the rain thunders on the roof. Eventually, when Quinn can no longer keep on exhausting her repeatedly failing efforts, face pressed to the floor, on her stomach, and cheek so smooshed that it was starting to bruise more from just the tilt of her head. They're playing War, from what she can tell, and the one who talked back to her- after telling the other not to, funnily enough -was losing horribly from the looks of it.

She couldn't even really see them playing, his face was just getting redder and redder with each passing card. There's also the fact that the other guard looks like he was actually feeling bad for winning so much.

Which would be absolutely hilarious under any other circumstances.

"Uh, you sure about-?"

"Yes."

Weird. Quinn didn't know you could even fail at War, at least not as badly as he was, it was more a game that hinged on luck rather than thought.

-Wait.

Ohh, right, she nearly forgot. Stupid. Quinn would facepalm if she could.

"Keh, uh, do you need any help there?"

He looks like he's about to lose it and Quinn's glad she's out of his immediate reach. Replying with a furious, "NO!" Placing down a card and losing, the other guard raises his hands in defense when he slams a fist on the table and belts out an angry note. Quinn couldn't help but look to the side with wide eyes, an embarrassed for him _'wow!'_ passing through her head.

"Are you sure about that?"

It comes out more deadpan and mocking than she meant to. But, also, _come on_. It was hard to keep herself from laughing at him. Which, she was certain, would only end with her getting a punch to the face- admittedly, probably would just roll into the pain rather than exacerbating her current state. He seemed like he was an especially angry one. Quinn was half sure, through the dazed state that she'd been in, that he was the one that had kicked her and held her down with little to no prompting.

He whips around to snap at her, "Yes!"

A lunge has her flinching back and him looking sadistically triumphant.

They restart another game before he's calmed down, it doesn't seem like it's a good idea.

Quinn hums and shares a pitying glance with the first guard. He tries to look away but can't quite manage it. "Well," she draws out slowly on the off chance that she's already pushed him too far, "what if I said I could help you without even having to do anything? Call it a bit of a magic trick." The looks she receives are both curious but one is half filled with fury. "It's simple, promise."

Unsurprisingly, they're both suspicious of her intentions. She can see it clearly visible on both their faces, even as they share a quick glance between each other to confirm whether they were both interested in what she'd said. A disgruntled look and their saying, "We're not untying you."

Ah-ha! Success.

"No, nope! Don't even have to. All you'll have to do is touch one of my fingers," she laughs and would've raised her hands in sign of peace if she could, "Sounds silly, I know. But it's why I'm part of a pirate crew in the first place- you could say, for my _'magic touch'_. It's really the only reason I was recruited, really." She adds it on as an afterthought. Just to help further her story but, ah. It has her pausing and rethinking her words.

She'd… meant to highlight her ability, just make it sound more believable, but now she had to actually pause on her words.

But that- That was true, wasn't it?

Quinn felt her already fake smile grow more plastic. Tongue flicking out to wet her suddenly dry lips but only tasting blood and the bitter taste of iron instead. It wasn't time for a pity party, even if she was really good at making herself feel bad. She didn't want to think about the fact that Ace had only saved her after he'd found out about her Devil Fruit or- or- or that the only reason he got to notice her was because she'd been imprisoned over that very same power.

She swallowed the thoughts down.

"I don't believe you."

"Don't have to. What'll it hurt to test out?" She scoffs, "It's no skin off my back. You're just touching my hand. What could I possibly do to you while I'm tied up like this, besides, ya' know-"

She wiggles for emphasis.

"Hmmph, what're you selling?"

Quinn actually has to laugh at that.

It's just- _so_ something she only expected to hear from her world that it comes completely out of left field and startles her. "Kehaha! Nothing, I just have a bit of good ol' luck on my hands, you see. That's only really good for gambling, no?"

He looks to the other guard, who shrugs.

They lean in to confer quietly, heads together and whispering, and Quinn looks away, pretending like she can't hear every single word that they're saying. To be fair, it was an incredibly poor job of keeping quiet. She wouldn't be surprised if someone in the hall could start to make out what they were saying.

"I don't know, man. I think she's telling the truth."

"What makes you so sure?"

"I mean, how often does a woman actually want you to touch her?"

He receives a smack upside the head.

" _Seriously?_ "

"Uhh, what could it hurt?"

They look back over their shoulders.

Quinn has rolled onto her back and is now whistling the closest approximation of a jail-bird tune. It sucks majorly. But it doesn't matter much. At least, not until it sends specks of blood falling back onto her face and has her mouth and jaw aching even worse than before. Bad idea, oof.

They don't seem all that impressed with the likes of her.

"...Fine. Give us your hand."

"Kinda hard to do that." She sits up and wiggles what fingers she can, which is only the few that aren't being held tightly down by rope. "Just touch them yourself."

It has him breathing a hard sigh and looking back at his cards.

Apparently, not mulling it over for long, it's an easy decision because he, very quickly, is swiping at her hands. Mental gymnastics put to rest. A mark of gold sparking to life as she grins and he pulls back and _stares_ , mind stalling-

And then starts screaming.

Bit of an overreaction much?

"What the-?!" His mouth is hanging open, ready to catch flies, eyes as wide as dinner plates and completely flabbergasted. The other looked equally thrown for a loop. "What is this?! What did you do to me?!"

"It's-"

She gets a punch to the face.

"OW. You _bastard,_ at least let me explain!"

Please, no one ever give this man a gun. He would have the worst trigger finger imaginable.

Quinn's going to kill Cona once she gets her hands on her. This whole thing could've been avoided and she can feel her face grow more strained by stress and pain by the minute. It's starting to get too hard to keep herself from grimacing. "It's-" She spits out a wad of blood, huffing like she was out of breath when she really shouldn't be, "It's a luck mark, damn it. You didn't have to punch me. It just… makes you luckier, that's all it does."

The suspicion has grown ten fold.

The gold glows through the red of her blood on his knuckles. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

_"Because if it did more I would have already used it to blow up your hand."_

Okay, maybe not quite that. But Quinn was starting to wish.

"Just. Play your damn game and see for yourself."

She… wants to lay down. Without ropes or in a boat or on a hardwood floor. All Quinn can think about is when the nights finally over and the next day has gone by and all that's left is small aches as she curls into warm blankets in warm clothes and the quiet ticking of a clock lulling her to sleep and to tears where no one can see her cry over her injuries. Because the only thing keeping her from flat out sobbing right now-

Which, she'll admit, was getting tough, as she was audibly choking back whimpers.

-was the refusal to let them feel satisfaction over making her cry.

There's a couple minutes that pass as cards are placed and glances are shot at her but eventually Quinn gets to watch the gold mark slowly disappear, before they're both jerking out of their seats and: "I won… I _actually_ won…"

"N-No way! That's impossible- you haven't won a game in ten years!"

Okay, this was absolutely ridiculous.

"See?" She tried not to sound like a nasally mess but failed horribly. "Magic touch."

They stared down at her, eyes wide.

"...What are you?"

"A pirate." She deadpanned.

"Bullshit, pirates can't do this kind of thing. You- You're some type of witch, aren't you?"

"Ugh, something like that." She groans. "Just touch my hand if you want to keep using it. Heh, best to do it now. I hear that you're going to toss me over to the factory as soon as you capture my Captain."

They don't say anything to her after that but Quinn can feel the swipe at her fingers, can see them try and pit the luck against one another, and game after game the luck continues to persevere- battling out between the two. Distantly, Quinn can't help but wonder if there's a limit to her luck stores, she doesn't think so. She can't feel a drain on herself and for something as simple as a card game- she's not sure. But, at some point, it becomes hard to keep track of how many marks they've made and their hands seem to be completely covered in gold by the time she looks up.

Once the other had started to steal luck it'd evened the playing field, and then the other decided that two marks was better than one, and then it just descended into nonsense from there.

Quinn quietly let the madness continue.

Face down on the ground, lying on her stomach, they didn't see her frown shift into a wicked grin.

"Hey…"

She was positively purring and if she had a devil's tail it would be curling in delight.

"What?" The guard with the trigger finger eyed her still form, a lot of the suspicion from before had drained away but they still weren't welcoming to her presence at all.

"Your shoes untied."

Which was fine, she didn't want them to like her. And she didn't think they ever would after the next few minutes ended.

"Huh? Oh, so it is."

He bends over to tie it.

As much time as Quinn had spent together with Ace and Kat, whether it be talking, listening to tales of Luffy, arguing, fishing, or fighting the urge to have a panic attack because Ace went missing because he was an _idiot_ who didn't tell them about his narcolepsy even though it was _her fault_ that she didn't _remember_ and-

Anyways.

The point is, that even though her time was spent up and about for most of the day, there was still time to stop and think. To get caught up in her own mind. Particularly at night. When gold stood bright and eyes grew tired and lazy and thoughts wandered.

And, well, when Quinn let her mind go, she got a lot of intrusive thoughts.

Most of them were pretty unhelpful, in fact, the majority of them were unhelpful- okay, all of them were. But that doesn't mean anything! What matters is that, every now and again, a rare unhelpful thought at night, when thought back to in the morning, could be turned into something helpful- like trying to define her Devil Fruit in concrete terms that can then allow for her to actually _do_ shit.

Like figuring out that the Luck Luck Fruit was pretty loosey-goosey and revolved more around luck in general, rather than specifically good versus bad luck, and that she could alter it as she saw fit. So long as the target she had in mind was marked.

Which they both currently were- _copiously._

"I'd watch out for that card there."

Dark eyes flicked to the loose few on the ground, The Joker, a useless card that didn't quite fit into the deck, and the one they didn't care to pay attention to when it escaped their interest. His foot folded the corner of it and on the hardwood floor, it's not surprising that it would make someone slip.

Aw, how unfortunate that it was him.

It wasn't as if Quinn snapped her fingers and something in her head pinged like a radar, she thinks there's going to be quite the loss of luck tonight. Keh. It's not as if there wasn't a cause.

"Wha- hey!"

She rolled out of the way.

And from there it was like the most intricate Rube Goldberg machine she'd ever had the pleasure of being witness to. There's a lot that she could point out. Like how, when he slips on the card he catches himself on the table and sends the opposite side careening into the other guards face, or, how, as he's struggling to his feet, the cards suddenly in the air obscure his vision and sends him stepping on an unfortunately tall loose board that goes straight between his legs and- Oh. Quinn will let your imagination fill in the blanks. There's really just too much to describe.

And all she has to do is watch her luck marks disappear in satisfying wisps of gold each time something new happens, ticking them off in her head, one after the other.

Unable to keep herself from relaxing, tension lifting from her shoulders, once they were laid out on the floor in a pair of twitching, unconscious messes. Glorious vindication.

"How'd you like that, **_Rube?_** "

It didn't last long.

There came a quiet knock at the door and Quinn shifted uncomfortably in her bounds as it opened and closed. There was a long moment of nothing but silence.

Then Quinn felt herself scoff and roll her eyes, "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, he posted a guard. I had to take care of that first."

"Take out the comms?"

"What do you think I've been doing this whole time? I can see you've been busy too. H-How did you manage…?"

"They slipped and fell. Rather beautiful to watch, but you'd had to have actually been there to understand."

"Ern… I said I was sorry."

"Tch. You heard _one_ guy and your _immediate_ reaction was to go to Plan B? Plan _Bait_?"

"Ugh, I panicked, okay? I was just so nervous and-!"

Quinn grumbled, "This is what I get for saying I'd play bait if I had to…" She slumped. "Are you absolutely, one hundred percent positive that you've taken out all those damn snails and contraptions?"

"Yes, yes I am. It was… very gross."

"Oh, boo-fucking-hoo. Can you get me out of these restraints now?"

Cona didn't expect sympathy but the overall lack of care had her sighing.

She tried not to think of the blood and snail… innards that drenched her forearm as she bent down to untie the knots holding Quinn down. After the guard had been posted she'd insisted on finding a place where she could be alone and had been taken to another floor, surprisingly close to where the snails were being kept, and then had proceeded to spend ten minutes trying to shove his unconscious body into a good hiding place where she could lock him in. But- when she'd discovered the snails- it was disgusting on multiple levels.

Somehow she thinks she should've expected as much.

The room they had set their pen up in was shockingly small, even for the already small creatures. Which wasn't unusual, to be fair, most people failed to properly take care of the creatures. But what had horrified her the most, to the point that she felt bile begin to rise in her throat, was that the rigs and contraptions, made and put on them in order to help people utilize their signals and catch frequencies, had almost completely fused to their skin. It- It hadn't been taken off in years and they'd ended up growing into them.

Cona had- Cona had decided it was more humane to kill the ones that were clearly suffering. Destroying the rigs of those that she could remove without tearing them and letting those ones free, out an open window.

She may have gone back to the unconscious guard and given him a pair of black eyes to match the back of his skull.

"Gonna be honest," Quinn pulled her out of the appalling memories as she could finally stretch her upper body, "the guy who beat me up, kinda funny."

She got a flat look in return. "You have terrible taste."

"Not what I meant."

Quinn felt her back and neck pop unpleasantly, a shiver running up her spine before she quickly began trying to rip the rest of the rope off her legs. She couldn't wait to stand on her own two feet. She wasn't sure how much time had actually passed but it was enough to have her limbs aching and stiff.

"I… Are you okay, by the way? You don't look too good."

"Oh, Cona, what could possibly make you say that?" It probably had something to do with the blood staining her shirt. Quinn quickly made it worse by rubbing her face clean with it, ignoring the way Cona grimaced watching her. "Keh, damn it, I'm all dizzy." She tried not to collapse as soon as she stood up, knees shaking and eyes heavy.

"Woah," Cona caught her under the arms, "Careful. And _of course_ you're dizzy, you got hit really hard in the head!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine…"

She quickly waved her off.

It was a lie. Quinn was not fine. But she thinks she would be if she just stayed still for a couple minutes and let the dizziness curb away slowly alongside her pounding headache. Cona backed away as soon as she was pushed aside, hands up in sign for peace. Quinn wasn't even paying attention to her anymore though, head in her hands.

They stayed in silence like that for a very long moment.

And, once Quinn's face looked more or less relaxed and her breathing had stabilized, Cona couldn't help but bring up something that had been bothering her ever since they'd left the brothel. Hand itching the gold mark that stood bright against her hand, hoping that she'd actually get an answer about it this time. "Hey…" Quinn peaked an eye open weakly. "So what's up with this?"

"Oh, that." Her eye closed. "I was trying out something new."

"Yeah, but what is it?"

"It's so that, if you actually betrayed us, something bad would happen to you."

Cona's mouth went dry. "I-I don't t-think t-that-"

"Mn, well, it was a bit of an experiment. Just a little ** _Karma_** , you know?" She received a pat to the shoulder. "Don't worry about it."

Cona was going to worry about it very much, thank you. Suddenly she was very glad that she hadn't decided to betray the pirate for real, eyeing the gold and the men collapsed in the room with a tiny bit of fear. She definitely didn't want to get even worse on their bad side.

"Are- Are we going to signal the others?"

Quinn pursed her lips. "Not yet." Truth is, she would very much like to. But... "I think there's a better place to let them in through. Where'd that Big Guy go?"

"You mean the Boss?"

"That's the one." She grinned, though it looked more like a grimace. "I think Ace and Kat would enjoy meeting him as quickly as possible. So let's find his room, kay? _Then_ we'll signal. And bring them right to him."

Yes, Cona shivered. She thinks it was a very smart idea to not be on their bad side.

And she was ushered ahead. The halls growing lighter as the drifting beams of sunlight started to make their way through the many windows that lined the way. It took a few couple close calls with Quinn being discovered. But, now that Cona had been deemed a welcome sight, she hadn't felt the same panic that caused her to push Quinn into the awaiting arms of the enemy. Which, also, may have something to do with the fact that Quinn was purposely walking behind her, very distinctly out of arm's reach.

Hey, it didn't hurt to be careful.

Cona glanced back, fist laying against the hardwood door. The one that was the Bosses. Quinn motioned for her to hurry it up with her hand, the bloodied woman leant against a wall, far enough that she wouldn't be seen. And- gosh! -Cona was so impossibly nervous.

She just… She just had to suck it up and get inside first. She could do that. Except, even with her hand raised, her body refused to move.

"Cona, go already!"

Quinn hissed from behind and made her jump to work, fist knocking against the door rapidly and instinctively.

Ah, it was too late to back out now.

She received a gruff, loud, and intimidating, "Come in."

And Cona took a deep breath, opened the door, and instantly started flipping the light switch up and down as fast and as many times as she could.

…

…

"Let me go! Put me down, damn it!"

Salt was not having a good time, flailing wildly and leg kicking.

"Should we… I don't know, throw her back?"

"Do not throw a person half a mile, Ace. That's just rude."

"It's more than just rude! It's _insane!_ " She just wanted to help and not be useless and sit back, letting others fight for her. It was even worse that they were strangers. But, now, Salt had to wonder if it was worth it. "I said… Put. Me. _Down!_ "

Each word was punctuated with a kick. A kick that failed to connect and she couldn't figure out why. As far as she could see, which admittedly wasn't very much from the angle she was stuck in, she should've been able to hit him in the face- at the very least she should've made contact with his chest. Instead, he only held her farther and farther away from his torso, a disgruntled look on his face.

Salt kicked.

The jerk had her held up, a few feet off the ground, by the ankle. Like she was some sort of ragdoll he could just swing around however he wanted.

"Ah, Ace."

Huh, suddenly her foot felt very warm.

"Her shoes on fire."

She blanked.

_"WHAT?!"_

Ace dropped her. "Ah, oops."

Salt took one long, hard look at her burning leg. And screamed-

"I got it!"

Water surged from outside their canopy and twisting rain covered her. The flames went out with a puff of black smoke and she was left coughing and sputtering, completely drenched from head to toe.

"Nice one, Kat!"

They high fived.

Those- Those damn pirates just _high fived._

Salt was left almost sobbing into her hands. "I-I don't understand what's happening anymore."

Ace and Kat shared a bemused look. The girl just struggled to wipe herself off, flicking water from her hands, and deal with their particular brand of insanity. Salt groaned. It'd taken a while to find them in the dark and trees, she'd only even been able to locate them because of their chatting. Being the only sound other than rain that she could hear- well, it was easier to pick out once she got close enough. Then, naturally, she'd tripped over a root while she'd been trying to explain herself and ended up being yanked up by an ankle. Ace hadn't cared whether she was right side up or not.

Kat tapped her on the shoulder, dancing fingers lifting some of the dampness away, as much as he could manage with one hand. "Uh, you should really head back-"

She slapped his hand away.

Which was worse for her considering it dropped the water back into place.

Fine. Be wet then.

"No!" She shivered but still bared her teeth, "I said I was going to help, didn't I? I don't care how crazy you pirates are. I'm staying."

It didn't matter if she could feel a cold coming on already. Salt was determined.

Ace rubbed the back of his head. "Why do you even want to help so bad anyway?" He'd admit that, maybe, grabbing her by the foot wasn't the best course of action. But, hey-! She was the one who lit herself on fire by kicking him. He was even actively trying to hold his flames back. That part was on her.

"I've been… involved in this for as long as I can remember," she huffed, "This is _my_ fight. I'm already a part of it so I don't know why people keep trying to take me out of it."

Ace could respect that.

"I _will_ help."

He shrugged. "Whatever you say, kid. I like your attitude!"

It was a wonder watching her face shift. Suddenly lighting up with a mix of surprise and joy. "Wait, really? You'll let me stay?"

"I thought you said you weren't going to take no for an answer."

"I wasn't- I mean, I'm _not_."

"So, then, I guess there's no choice then."

Kat watched the exchange, scratching behind his ears, adjusting the umbrella so it kept the rain that escaped his capabilities off of Ace while he was talking. The young Captain had tossed it to him when he'd pick up Salt- "So what'll you help with then?" He… uh, he may have been a tad more prideful than he probably should be as he lifted the umbrella a little higher and puffed out his chest. " _I'm_ in charge of keeping the rain away." And, later on, fire.

It was- er, Ace tried to hide his smile -a _little_ comical that he was trying to show off to the kid but, screw it. Kat liked being wanted and needed.

Salt stared. Then gave a slow clap. Immediately stomping all over his pride. "Good for you. No, really, pulling out the big guns for a team effort, huh?"

"...I…" He raised a weak finger. "... _want_ to hit her but… that's also something Quinn would totally say."

Ace snorts, lightly whacking her upside the head with the back of his hand. "I'd just hit Quinn."

They ignored Salt's whine.

Kat covered his face. "Well, I mean, yeah, _you_ could. But I couldn't." She was higher up on the crew than him! He was horrified by just the thought, it was laughable almost. Sure, he'd seen her and Ace playfully hit each other once or twice before, but actually doing so too… He thinks he'd die of embarrassment if not shame first. Besides, she'd known Ace much longer, at least a full island's distance from what he'd been able to garner. That just wasn't in the cards for him- hell, it wasn't even in the same deck. "She'd hate me!"

"Chehehe. No, she wouldn't."

"Ooh, I bet she would."

Salt received another whack.

"Not _helping._ "

She groaned and rubbed the back of her head. "Stop touching my hair…" In retaliation she swipes at Ace and assumes he managed to dodge when she doesn't make contact. "Besides, I don't think you have anything to worry about, that pirate lady seemed like she was pretty hung up about you guys. She was earlier."

Kat perked up.

"Oh! Was she… Was she _that_ upset about all of this that even you noticed?"

"Nah, it was something else."

He immediately drooped.

"The bartender and her were talking before. She was feeling bad about hiding the fact that-"

A flicker of lights catches their eye. It's the telltale sign of a light switch being flipped repeatedly up on the third floor. Looking quite stressed through the window.

"Ah, that's the signal!"

Almost as suddenly as it had started, it had stopped.

Which was a bit odd- Quinn had said that she'd try and keep doing it for as long as possible.

"Let's go!" He leaves before Salt can say anything more. Ace can admit that he's extremely interested in what she'd been about to say, but he also absolutely didn't want to hear it from her. It wasn't her place to tell and Ace felt like he'd be invading his crew's privacy. Besides, he was sure that, if it really was important, Quinn would eventually bring it up herself. Otherwise, though, she'd probably be pretty pissed to learn that some girl they'd just met had blurted out information she hadn't meant to be known-

Ace knew _he_ would be.

Airing out others secrets was just asking for trouble. If he couldn't handle his own getting out- and trust him, he couldn't, and he… he knew that -then it wouldn't due to let others have theirs strung up for all to see.

"Wha- hey?!"

Too late. Salt watched the pirate take off, a hand holding his hat in place, while his crewmate made sure to keep the umbrella above his head while ushering water from the air. Leaving her behind with only a few strides. They're both moving to where the lights had flashed like a strobe.

Kat turned to call back over his shoulder. "C'mon, if you're gonna help, you should be able to keep up!" She quickly followed, trying to make up her seconds of surprise to get back under the spaces where Kat had already pushed rain aside for Ace. He could feel a grin spread over his face. They'd had to wait, longer than they expected or wanted to, but it was finally time to make an entrance.

…

…

And make one they did.

With fire and water and kicking through an upper wall to see shattered remains of glass and Quinn holding onto a fallen Cona. A broken bottle lying next to them, nothing but pieces. Having been thrown and cracked against the woman's head, hard enough to send her sprawling and shards stuck in her face. There's blood on the floor. And neither Ace nor Kat could tell if it was from her entirely or Quinn as well.

They both looked worse for wear. And the front of Quinn's normally white shirt had been almost completely drenched red and pink. The minutes they'd taken alone in the building had turned into quite the ordeal from the looks of it.

"Took you long enough." Quinn grunts and carefully pulls glass from Cona's scalp. The woman is trying to hold her head and groaning but, for the most part, seems okay, if delirious. It didn't look like the bottle had hit her completely head-on, instead the edge had caught the side of her face as it ruptured. Unfortunately, that meant there were still shards stuck in her head and skin.

She was going to have scars for a while, if not forever.

"He's over there." Quinn nodded her head to the man, fingers searching for pieces of glass through bloodied hair. "Bit of a piss-poor attitude. Couldn't handle the _lights_ flickering."

She says it as a clear jab and with a roll of her eyes. But they can both tell that she's trying to hide the tension creeping all over her voice.

"Well, I can't say that I'm not glad it wasn't me."

Cona whimpers. "Screw you…"

A great mass rises. And, on the other side of the room, he slides out from the bed he's been laying on. "Flipping the lights like that, you really wanted to make my head hurt, didn't you?" He mutters. "Should've known… Should've known… A wench like you is too used to screwing people over to resist."

She lets out a low whine. None of them can tell if it's because of what he said or because Quinn was busy pulling out the largest piece of glass from her face at the same time.

"So, these are the pirates then? Quite the little homewreckers, aren't you?" He laughs but his teeth are gnashing. "I see that Cona lied when she said that the cute looking one had been killed."

Kat blinked rapidly in surprise, not knowing how to respond. _Cute?_

"Oh, uh, thanks?" He tried.

"That was meant to be an insult!"

"Oh. Ooh! Yeah, that makes more sense then."

He coughed awkwardly into his fist. Ah, he'd never had someone insult him like that before. Usually they just came at him outright with the curses and name-calling.

The man sneers but moves on. "So that must mean that that cowboy over there is the Captain then." Ace didn't even give him a glance. "I'll say that your side-girl tried to give us a bit of trouble, but it was useless. Ha! She had a good run in with one of my men and look at her now- You're ignoring me, aren't you? Hey. Hey! _Don't just walk away!"_

Ace walked away. Uncaring to the large man's face shifting through many varying shades of dark red. "Oy, Quinn." He crouched down next to her, fingers threading together and elbows on his knees. "I thought you said you weren't going to fight."

She yanks on a particularly stuck piece of glass and Cona bites her thumb to keep from yelling. It didn't help in stopping the whimpers.

"Guess I'm just too irresistible."

Ace scowled.

Quinn's blank.

"I don't like your plan."

She can't help it. Quinn snorts. It sounds a little like a laugh.

"Oh, wow, then you're _really_ not going to like the one we ended up switching to."

Given that her nose was still bleeding slightly and looked decidedly… smooshed. Just enough that he could notice as he got close. And the fact that her eyes were not dilating the proper way for the amount of light in the room, Ace didn't think he would like it either. "We should've just walked straight in. They wouldn't have had time to-"

"Are we really going to do this right now?" Her eyes narrowed into slits. "Because I will _so_ argue with you on this."

"Shitty plan. Took too long."

Oh, this little bastard.

"Okay, alright. So we are going to do this right now. Ace, I don't know if you know this, but there are these things called cell phones and they- I mean, _Den Den Mush_ i, sorry, ignore that. And they can make these things called calls. To people we don't like. And who definitely won't like us."

"Oy. Don't talk down to me." He poked her on the bridge of her nose, watching her wretch back with a low hiss. "You're the one who ended up getting hurt 'cause of your plan in the first place."

"Tch. It was more Cona's fault than anything." Quinn rolled her eyes and may have pulled out a particularly sensitive shard that made the older woman whimper. "It would have still been a good plan if we were digging a hole out back later."

Cona turned green.

"That's too stubborn."

"You're one to talk."

Ace poked her again and Quinn swiped at him, outraged. "Couldn't you come up with something better?"

"Well, yes. But none of them would have been ethical."

"We're _pirates_."

"Erm." She glanced to the side guiltily, with the sort of look on her face that reminded him of when Luffy did something especially stupid or bad. Wow.

Ace felt his eyebrows shoot up in disturbance, Luffy rarely ever felt guilty, and that was enough to tell him that the things she'd come up with were _pretty frickin' bad._

" _Yeah,_ kehe. We are." Now Ace was just unsettled. "Doesn't mean I should act on every single bad thought I have. What makes me less of a terrible person."

Okay, so, maybe- just maybe -her mind had briefly drifted to a movie scene that she could only somewhat recall. It might have been about vikings or British soldiers from the Revolutionary War or who knows, it could have been a compilation of many different scenes, the only thing that really stood out to her was that she was pretty sure it was considered a war crime.

Yeah, boarding up exits and setting the building on fire while everyone was sleeping, letting chaos and horrible death ensue would have definitely met their demands. Especially since they wouldn't know who'd done it.

Which was a… troubling idea.

But, everyone got intrusive thoughts sometimes, and maybe her grandmother was right when she said tv would rot her brain, but so long as she never acted on it, or entertained them with any bit of legit seriousness, no matter if the number of them had been steadily growing, she'd be fine, right? Right?

Right.

Kat raised a clawed hand. "Uh, guys, we might want to pay attention now."

He was still stuck standing in the hole they'd made when they busted in through the wall, and Quinn gave a curious blink at the unexpected face of Salt popping up over the edge. Her face red with consternation and strain as she tried to pull herself onto the floor.

In comparison to the ease with which Ace and Kat had nearly cleared the first floor in a single leap and left her behind, she was struggling to inch up just a few feet. Fingers slipping in the rain and almost unable to keep her eyes open against the flow of water, with more than a few bumps and bruises.

Quinn made a face. "Why is she here?"

Ace shrugged, "She said she was staying."

That didn't really answer the question.

"Guys? The man?"

Oh, yes, _him._

Ace stood up and stretched, back popping. "Yeah, this guy." He looked a little disappointed as he walked up to him. "You're the one that wanted Kat dead? Che. You look like the coward you are."

He's so red with rage they can hardly distinguish his expression anymore.

It's just pure anger.

Apparently, he didn't like being ignored.

"Instead of settling it like men, you tried to make someone else do your dirty work," Ace flicked the brim of his hat. "So I'm not going to regret kicking your ass."

Kat slowly felt himself begin to clap, unable to keep himself from cheering. "...Woo! Go, Ace! You're so cool!"

He flushed in response.

Quinn covered her mouth.

"Oh, Kat, I know you're not trying to be but it sounds _so_ sarcastic."

They're all being silly. The seriousness of the confrontation, the tension and worry, and even the throbbing in her face and Cona crying in her lap, washes away with the comfort of reuniting. Putting them at ease and back to how they normally were with each other, just jumping off one another with humor despite the situation. It's just too easy to get back to what they're used to, distracting each other to keep from boredom or thoughts, or trying to make the most of, when they were on the boat, a confined space and, now, the tension they should be acknowledging.

Which is why they don't see it in time. Not at first at least.

It's a rustle of cloth, barely a movement really. But he- the man -shifts and then suddenly there's a gun in his hand and the trigger is already being pulled.

"Wait- _no_!"

They scream.

" _ACE_!"

He's been shot.

Kat tore his sick mask off, mess of sharp and blunt teeth bared, tears springing to his eyes. "You… You bastard… _Ace_ …"

"Oh god," Quinn feels her heart lurch in her chest as he collapses, a lump forming in her throat, and it feels like her whole body has been doused in cold water. She feels sick and pale and her joke from earlier suddenly feels in poor taste and she-

She sucks in a shaky breath as a thought pierces through the numbness. Right. _Right._

He was fire now.

He was fine.

Ah, she… she hadn't even realized that she'd shoved Cona off and had made to run to him.

"...hah, okay, okay, okay." She mumbled lightly, teeth grinding against her bottom lip, falling to the ground with her hand on her heart. It was beating erratically and the panic still fought to be curbed down. But it helped that, when she looked to the ground, there was no blood to be found. "That's… thank goodness." Instincts had gotten the better of her.

And, from the looks of it, they had with Ace too.

He- He needed a minute.

To just lay back and stare up at the ceiling with wide eyes, hat having fallen off behind him. He expects there to be pain or death or anything, actually, but there's such an absence that he can't quite figure out whether it's because of shock or something else. Because he had seen the bullet hit him- had technically _felt_ it too, right through his forehead, but beyond that there was nothing. Just an odd feeling of… his body moving away from it. Separating, from the inside-out. Which was-

Ace slowly reached a hand up to his forehead.

Pulls it away, expects to see a bit of red, but there's nothing. Just a short black hair hanging off one of his fingers, sliding off as he sits up, hand going back to his head. Feeling for the bullet wound.

There's no hole either.

He's solid.

"Chehehe…" Ace laughs nervously, uncomfortably. The shock of it all had caused him to fall over. "That's unexpected. I'm alive." He glances back just in time to see Quinn give him a considering look, not seeing the fear that had shaken her, and the complete silence that had fallen over Kat.

Which was a little odd.

There should be noise coming from his direction. The rain at the very least, but instead there was nothing.

There was no pitter-patter coming in from the outside to be heard anymore, though Ace could still see the droplets shining with the reflection of the morning sun. The red heads eyes a mixture of fury and disbelief physically manifested by the sudden lack of sound in the immediate area and with, as Ace squints, shuddering and stilled rain. It doesn't move. Only hums with barely contained ferocity.

Kat is- very not okay with this.

"You- _You tried to kill my Captain?!_ "

The only response he gets from the man is a mutter under his breath, "...Did I miss?"

And Ace grimaces. He wasn't handling this well. He couldn't blame him. "Hey, Kat!" It has him jumping to attention, spine snapping ramrod straight. "Remember! You said you'd make sure to keep the flames back, right?"

He's refocusing.

The shivering rage that threatened to seize him entirely is shaken off as he nods. It was just- okay. Kat would like to say that normally he was much better at keeping control. Erm, most of the time. He'd been having a lot of trying moments recently, it was enough to have his heart racing even at rest. He should've been more prepared for this, he'll admit, he should've expected something like this to happen eventually, but he just _wasn't._

Being a pirate was going to give him heart problems later in life if this keeps up.

The rain starts to fall again behind him.

He pretends not to notice Salt falling over in shock at the sudden thunderous sound of water slamming down behind her.

"What are you two going on about?!" The man snarls, raising the gun back up at Ace. "Just die already! I only need two of you!"

Ace flinches back when he fires but, when it hits his chest this time, there's once again no pain or blood beyond his body splitting and the bullet getting swallowed in the flames. It took a lot more effort than he'd imagined to hold still and just take it. His instincts screaming at him to move.

He looked down at his chest.

It's disconcerting to watch the skin restitch itself with flames.

"What. The. _Hell._ "

"Chehehe!"

The man turns pale and takes a horrified step back.

Water streaks out and whips him across the jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground and scrambling to get back on his feet. He struggles to realize what had happened, a puddle stretching from Kat to him. The red head hides a cheeky grin behind his outstretched hand and claws.

"Kat-!" Ace whips around. Not _really_ reprimanding, just annoyed. Ace wanted to be the one to fight him.

Quickly he turns back to the now fallen man and Ace is more than a little vindictive as he wills his hand to burst into flames. It's impossibly hot but somehow he doesn't find it the slightest bit uncomfortable. It's almost comforting if he was being honest and it twists around his arm in a beautiful blaze. "It's my turn."

Quinn instantly recognizes the fist of flame, even from still images, it's just too iconic to not recall.

She scoots back, pulling Cona away, urging Kat and Salt to hurry to them in the hopes that she might get some actual protection from him. She's sure this won't end well. Experimenting with devil fruits, especially almost on the fly, was not a good idea- her nose was a testament to that fact.

So, as she sees him rear his fist back, she knows he plans to follow the punch through by throwing fire. "Take." And throw it he does. " _This_!"

...Pitifully.

" _Snk._ "

Ace turns bright red in the face and presses his lips together in a thin line.

"Krk…" She tries. She really, really does.

She just- _can't._

Because she knows what he meant to do and what it's going to eventually be like, but this… this is so unexpected and so out of left field that it has her in hysterics before she can even try to stop herself.

"Kehahahaha! Oh my god, oh my god," she was freaking wheezing. Oh gosh, she could feel her stomach begin to cramp with the sheer intensity of the laugh. "Aa- ow, ow, ow, oh, I'm gonna bust my gut! Keheh- everything hurts!"

" _Quinn, shut up!"_

"I-I can't b-breathe-"

He's turned such a bright red that she wouldn't be surprised if his ears started whistling and it only throws her into a heavier fit. Kat's shoulders shudder with his own laughter. Though it's more a result of Quinn than Ace's failed attempt.

Ace lets out a thick breath through his nose, pouting, "Whatever! I'm trying again."

"Kehaha, oh, please do!"

Surprisingly, the man seems less threatened now. Maybe because he doesn't think Ace is capable of hurting him or because Quinn's laughter had given a false sense of security. "This is a joke right, this has to be? Some sort of prank the Captain set up, right? That has to be it." That doesn't mean he isn't still sweating. And he recoils when Quinn suddenly stops laughing, an idea coming to her.

A creepy grin forms on her face. "Oh, no, no, no. _You're_ the experiment."

"Maybe I need to add on more fire…" Ace doesn't help the man's growing fear by muttering under his breath, eyeing the patch of fire that still blazes at his feet before being snapped out of existence with Kat controlling water to swallow it from the center outward. "Then it won't fall immediately."

"Needs more direction and force?" Quinn suggested instead.

Even if the first was a fluke she really didn't want there to be more fire.

"Why not both?" Ace chirped.

"Aa, of course. Both…" That'll certainly end well.

Ace hums and an arm bursts into fire and-

Kat gasps and instinctively throws up a wall of water, pulling it from the outside rain- it still doesn't keep the heat at bay.

All four of them are forced to snap their eyes closed and throw up their arms to protect themselves, the sudden burst of fire envelops Ace as a whole and leaves their images stained with orange. It boils. Hot enough that, when Quinn finally manages to peak an eye open, she can see the water in front of them begin to steam, pop, hiss, and crackle and shoot out at them like when you leave a pot of liquid on the stove for too long and it starts to attack back.

Salt screams and Cona looks like she's about to pass out before Salt is desperately trying to pull the collapsed woman away. The head injury keeps her from being able to stand, but she's clearly trying to escape as well. Neither, however, are strong enough to get away.

Then, as soon as it comes, it disappears and Ace is on his back trying to stamp out his arms. "AHH! TOO MUCH, TOO MUCH!"

Kat winces before twisting the boiling water, much less than what it was, moving it to smother the flames. It explodes with small, initial burst of fire but, as he flexes his hands and breathes, the air is sucked from it and there's nothing left but withering embers.

There's- it takes longer than he thought it would - much more fire to quell this time. "...I think my eyebrows might be gone."

"Little more warning next time, Ace?"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry." He sits up and it's a wonder how his clothes are still completely intact. Quinn chalks it up to the heaven-sent physics of the world and is more than a little glad that his hat that she'd worked so hard on hadn't gotten a fresh addition of _literal_ flames this time. "I think that was way too much fire that time!"

"You _think?!"_ Salt screams to herself under her breath. "I wanted to help, not die in a fiery blaze of _lunacy_."

Quinn shoots her a glare over her shoulder, coupled with Kat doing the same, it had Salt's jaw creaking from the force of slamming it shut.

And the man, brutally singed on all edges, blubbered.

"I- I- I can give you whatever you want!" He scrambles back. "Fame-! However much money you could possibly want-! Even the Celestial Dragons will revere you-!"

It's a sentence that has Ace's face positively darkening in the shadow of his brow. " _Hah?_!"

He laughs, it's fearful and humorless and everything he says is obviously a lie. "Oh, haha, I see! Not your style, of course. Uh- Uh-" Quinn feels her stomach curdle in disgust as his gaze shoots between her and Cona and a sleazy grin shakily crinkles onto his face. "How about women then?! Prettier ones than what you already have and who are better at-! ERK?!" He chokes.

"You better not be insinuating what I think you are." Ace growls lowly, features animalistic.

"NO-! No- I didn't mean to offend-!" He manages to wheeze out through the squeezing grip around his throat. Not enough to completely suffocate but Ace's hand begins to glow a delicate and dangerous red. "But- I promise, I-I can give you anything that you- _AAU_ GH!"

He's forgotten experimenting in the ensuing rage.

Ace leans back, slow and deceptively calm. "...Anything?"

The man simply screams his voice raw, unable to bear the raising temperature of the fingers surrounding his neck. Distantly, it sounds a little like he's trying to say "anything" back.

"Chehe. Tell me then," he grins, "What temperature does this feel like to you?"

He apparently registers that he isn't going to like what happens next because, all of them duck as, through his screaming, he's able to pull his gun up and fire the remaining rounds into Ace. Who doesn't so much as jerk as streams of fire blowout of his back, following the projection of the bullets.

There's a simple click once the gun runs out.

"M-Monster… _Demon_! I-I'll kill you-!" The man manages to spit out between his pain. "Just die-"

"Nah. Stopped listening to people tell me that eventually."

And Ace proceeds to rear back a flaming, signature fist. It flickers with a controlled strength, not the destructive mass that had burned off Kat's eyebrows, and he punches. There's soon to be another hole added to the building again. This time, though, in the ceiling.

Flecks of wood fall and the flaming boards are put out by both rain and Kat.

"Holy shit," Kat mumbled, "When Ace said he lost control, he really wasn't kidding."

Quinn slowly leaned over to whisper to him as best and as quietly as she could, staring at the back of their Captain, his yellow shirt fluttering a bit. "...Don't tell him I ever said this but that was literally the coolest shit I have ever seen in real life." Ace still looked peeved, his hand flickering with fire, disgruntled by the exchange.

Salt flinched back, shiver running up her spine, and finally stopped trying to tug Cona out of the room. "How… can they act like this is normal?" It didn't matter if they were pirates or criminals or technically helping them or whatever. Fire. Water. This was all completely unnatural and borderline demonic.

This was-

"I…" Cona whispered to her. "I accidentally got the woman, Quinn, captured and when I went to go and save her. It- It looked like she'd knocked out the two guards without even moving, I'm not-" She raises the gold on her hand into view, swallowing nervously. "I'm not sure how… it was- they looked horrible."

Quinn and Kat pretended they couldn't hear either of them. Exchanging a quick look that told them that they were both struggling to keep their humor down.

"I don't like this. I don't like this at all."

Salt looked down.

Wrapping her head around pirate hijinks was sure to drive her crazy. She can focus on what she can do, instead. Like repaying Cona, at least, returning the favor when she'd helped her escape. "Come on, Cona, you should get back to the bartender. She'll be able to help your head. It'll get infected at this rate."

Quinn humms lightly. It stops her in her tracks. "We're not done yet, remember?"

"Yeah." Kat cracked his neck. "There were others, weren't there? They hurt you too."

She laughs a bit sadistically. "Oh, I took care of those ones already. You heard what Cona said."

Ace nods without turning around.

A couple seconds passed and it'd helped him to calm down, adding a bit more fuel to his fire as well. But that was to be expected. "It was all of them that were responsible for all of this, right?" He asks and doesn't wait for her to respond before continuing. "Besides, can't you hear them?"

Salt stops and listens.

It takes a second but-

"They're running up the stairs." It sounds like a pack of animals. There's so many footsteps and they're coming so fast that she can feel her nerves begin to fray at the edges. " _Oh._ They heard."

"Chehehe. Yeah," his eyes dance with anticipation, "they did."

Salt swallows and tries to steel her nerves.

…

…

The brothel woke that morning with anxiety filled hearts. It only got worse as the day continued on, there was no sign of the pirates or Cona or even Salt, who they hadn't been able to find since they'd left. But, oh- they had an idea where she'd run off to. They only hoped the kid wouldn't regret it.

The day ticked by.

They were closed for once, the Bartender had shut down shop for the day- they usually worked as a bar and as waitresses when the sun was up -and so there was little to distract their worried minds.

By the time afternoon had rolled around they had all gathered their bets. They… it'd been too long. And they hung their heads for the loss and began another day, they would have to come up with some excuses, wouldn't they?

Or, at least, that's what they all thought until one of the women paused long enough to look out the window.

The morning crowd was up for the day, milling about. But a curious group was walking down the street, causing a bit of commotion from the looks of it. Apparently a pair of women looked to be injured.

She looks closer.

And sees the trio of pirates, one bloodied, the slightly beat up face of Cona, and a skipping Salt. They all had such wide grins on their faces that it threatened to make their cheeks burst. They look triumphant.

"They…" She sucks in a breath. "...did it!"

"What?"

There's excited whispers as more of the girls come to see the group.

"They did it! They really did it!"

-0-

"Check him."

"Kat, seriously, I'm fine."

_"Check him."_

Quinn let out a small laugh, unable to help herself. She was holding a bag of frozen peas to her face. The brothel workers had stumbled over themselves to treat her wounds, well, after they hauled Cona away to her own room that is. But, whatever, she was just glad to have a white strip of tape across her nose, makeshift ice packs, and what painkillers they could give her. She'd also gotten some ice for her back, which was currently discovering new places to throb, and was laying on that surrounded by wonderful, wonderful pillows and blankets.

The girl that still remained in the room, holding what little medkit they did have, seemed absolutely flabbergasted by Kat's insistence on Ace getting checked out. Staring at the Captain with confusion because he was, very obviously, completely fine.

"It's alright, I'll do it. I'll do it." Quinn waved the girl away and she nodded slowly, still making a face, and left them the small kit. Quinn groaned as she sat up, stretching. Dropping her ice pack to the side and motioning for Ace to come closer. "C'mon, Ace, it'll make Kat feel better."

Said redhead nodded hurriedly.

Ace grumbled but sat down across from her, letting her take his head in her hands. He looked to be pouting. Or, he was just honestly annoyed. She was willing to bet it was a mix of both. Quinn caught his gaze as she held his face and they quickly got stuck in an impromptu staring contest. One that seemed to have Kat looking more and more anxious by the second.

She squeezed.

He blinked.

"Stahp. You're squishin' mah cheeks." Quinn snickered, watching Kat eye him intensely from the side, as she stopped to turn his head this way and that. He didn't even have a scratch on him, not that she expected to find anything. Even eyeing his forehead a little longer than necessary, where the bullet would have gone through. "Do you even know what you're doing?"

"I'll have you know that I actually do. Well, I would if I was actually going to do it."

"What? _Quinn,_ " Kat whined, "You said you'd check him out!"

"There's no need to. Because, Ace," she flicks him on the forehead and watches it turn to flames, "ate a Logia fruit. Much different from my Paramecia, and much safer for him to get away with being shot and- well, _hurt._ "

Ace still flinched back, hand coming up to slap the spot. "Hey!" Before he seemed to register what she'd said, "Wait, a what?"

Oh, right. They wouldn't know about the distinctions yet, would they?

Kat made a face. "Yeah, what'd'you mean?"

Quinn took a deep breath in through her nose.

It probably wouldn't do any harm in telling them, would it? She didn't think so. They were sure to find out eventually anyways.

"Devil Fruits, the East Blue seems to think they're just straight up magic. Which is _fair_ , but only somewhat true. There _is_ a science to them. And, while I can't tell you what exactly that science is, I only have guesses and not concrete info, I do know a bit more than what most East Bluers can tell you."

They stared at her with rapt attention, eyes wide.

She snorted at the sight before shaking her head and crossing her legs, holding up three fingers. "There are three categories of Devil Fruit: Paramecia, Logia, and Zoan. I have a Paramecia Fruit, the Luck Luck Fruit, and Ace has a Logia, the Flame Flame Fruit. Respectively it gives us Luck and Fire as powers, as you both know already.

"First, the easiest to explain, is the Zoan fruit. It essentially gives the eater the ability to turn into an animal, like a wolf or a giraffe, and usually in three forms. Human, Human-Hybrid, and Full Beast. Now _animals_ , as a term, is sort of loose, as there's subsets of the category, like: Mythical Zoans, a phoenix for example, and Ancient Zoans, think dinosaurs. Which, yeah, is an animal, but one considered extinct." Er, kind of. Shit, they existed here, didn't they? "I'm… not sure if it would allow for sea creatures though? I would imagine, but given that it takes away your ability to swim, that seems kind of useless. Actually, have I ever seen anyone with a fish fruit? That's a little weird, I figured Oda would've cleared that up at some point...

"Anyways," she coughed, she'd fallen into a bit of a tangent there, and pretended like she hadn't just name dropped their universes _author_ by accident, ignoring their briefly confused looks, "Ace has a Logia. Which is actually the rarest of the three, though Mythical and Ancient Zoans are even more rare, and is basically just the ability to turn into an element. Like, well, fire, but there's also Ice and Light and Sand and Lightning and… you get the point. You're basically intangible and able to absorb attacks and, based on whatever fruit you ate, you gain control of your respective element. Erm, potential control I mean." He needed some work.

Ace perked up at the description of his fruit.

That… helped him out quite a bit to be honest. At least now he had some idea of what he could do.

Quinn stabbed a finger through his cheek harshly, hissing at the flames that licked her finger before pulling it out and watching Ace struggle to reign the flames back in. "Hey, watch it, Quinn!" Okay, he didn't need the demonstration. He got it back with the bullets and damn- he shivered, the feeling would take some getting used to.

"Sorry, not sorry."

Kat clapped a hand to his face. "Wait, so that's why he's not hurt?" He suddenly burst out. He'd been looking more and more mind boggled by the minute. "Because he _can't_ be?!"

"I mean, he can be. See: watch this."

Rather joyfully she licked her palm and proceeded to slap Ace on the face, not hard enough to leave a print or really hurt at all. Just enough to have him jerking in surprise and then rubbing at his face. "Quinn, gross! What the hell?!"

She was having too much fun with this, damn it!

"Kehehe." In thinking that, Ace watched her expression shift to delight as she smirked. "Weakness: Water, obviously. But, presumably, also anything wet." She then made a face, tilting her head in thought. "Though, I'm sure you'll be able to build up an immunity to it over time. Extreme heat could dissipate it before it even reached you, for example." Like back when he'd started eating up Kat's wall of water. Admittedly, she'd been thinking about his fruit much more than her own. His powers were just… She already knew enough about it to actually have _ideas_ for it. "You know, I wonder if you could change the chemical properties of it, at some point?" She suggested.

Ace turned blank faced. "...What?"

"Like, I mean, making it a grease fire instead of a campfire. Water would actually help you then. And you could potentially shift between the two. Keh- then you'd only have to watch out for baking soda! Kat, go get me some, why don't you?"

He didn't seem to appreciate her spot of humor.

Ace slapped her back.

Quinn yelped, loudly.

"Ow, watch the bruises!"

He grinned a bit wickedly as he repeated what she had said. "Sorry, not sorry."

That said- that was a good idea. He'd have to ask her about it more later, if he could get rid of water as such an obvious weakness… that could only help him improve. It was food for thought.

Kat facepalmed. He, at least, seemed to be much less anxious compared to how he was before. Quinn would take that as a win, thank you very much. "So that's it? He just has to watch out for the water-thing for a while, until he can figure out how to, you know, _not be_?"

"There's Haki and Seastone and other obvious weaknesses that I can't think of right now but- Yeah. Bullets and swords aren't going to be that big of a deal."

Ace blinked.

That- both of those sounded familiar somehow.

"What's those first two again?"

"Haki is… Okay, I'll tell you about that later because it's a whole other thing and the likelihood of us having to deal with that anytime soon is astronomically low." She knocked on wood and paused. "Er, that's assuming we don't run into any more Vice Admirals. I'm pretty sure it's a requirement for them."

Ace shivered and couldn't help but twitch, thinking back on Garp and his Fists of Love. If it was a requirement… he was sure the old man had used it on them once or twice.

"But Seastone- Kairoseki -its a mineral that makes Devil Fruit users weak and shuts off Devil Fruit powers entirely, so long as you're in contact with it. Something about it giving off the feel of the ocean? I don't know, the Marines have it."

They both paused. "You know, I think I've heard of that before…"

"Yeah, me too."

Quinn sort of expected that. There'd probably been mentions of it in newspapers and the like, even if they hadn't known what it did, they'd likely heard the word tossed around once or twice. Somehow she doubted the Marines put out an explanation on the mineral, the better kept the secret was, at least in the Blues, the bigger advantage they had on rising fruit-users.

"Ah. Wait."

Ace suddenly raised his hand. Quinn got the impression of a freshman college student not realizing he had to anymore, the move was awkward looking. "What am I- a teacher? Shoot."

"Luffy, my brother," Kat and her shared a long suffering look at the wall in unison, as if they needed the clarification at this point, "can't get hit by bullets either. And, last time I checked, rubber isn't an element."

Finding out that little fact had been an… experience. And not a very good one. It'd happened a year or so after Sabo's death and the bear incident. He didn't know exactly when but he was pretty sure he'd been twelve or just about to be. Someone had been encroaching on their turf, and not the usual people from Grey Terminal who knew to keep out and keep off.

Ace was proud- er, proud was a strong word, in this case -to say that he'd kept it surprisingly together and only went totally, completely, _absolutely_ **ballistic**.

The incident had left him more than a little paranoid about Luffy since then and much more- attached, he'll say, to the bubbly boy, after discovering that he'd been okay after getting shot. If bruised and whining.

(He'd actually had a pretty similar reaction to Ace. That is, falling over in shock and expecting to be dead.)

Ace would deny crying about it later on. No sir, he did not shed a single tear about his failure of protecting him and intense, crippling fear of losing another brother.

Quinn nodded like she knew exactly what he was talking about. Which, with how much he'd lost track of how much he'd regaled her with tales while they were stuck alone together, he wouldn't be surprised if she actually did. "Yeah, but rubber bounces. If the bullet had been tipped, it probably would've gone straight through him. So long as the weapon is blunt though, he'll be fine."

She says it so nonchalantly, like it should be obvious- which, hindsight was 20/20 -and is completely unaware of Ace's sudden and uncontrollable, internal panic.

Oh. _Oh, no._

That hadn't even crossed his mind.

Tipped. Bullets.

Was that- Was that even a thing?

Kat thankfully, spoke his thoughts. "Does that even exist? I've never heard of such a thing."

And Quinn frowned, like she hadn't expected him to say that. Ace looked at her with sudden terror. Oh shit, was it something new that he hadn't heard about? "Oh, that's… right." Her brow furrowed down and she seemingly took a second to recollect her thoughts. "Nobody uses those here, do they? That's…. Less efficient and less effective." She mutters, which is not something Ace wants to hear right now.

She seems to shake herself out of her thoughts with a final mumble: "They haven't invented them here yet. Ah, I mean," she stumbles over her words, the statement coming out odd, "Yeah! You're right. I don't think there are bullets made for piercing."

Ace groaned, hiding his face in his hands. "Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry."

Though the 'yet' was beyond disconcerting.

If it was a thing, Luffy was the kind of idiot who would get so used to being shot that he'd step in front of bullets that wouldn't bounce back.

...Next time he saw him he had to remind him to watch out for bullets and actually _try to dodge them_ like, you know, how _a normal person would_.

Says the hypocrite who just took a whole six bullets earlier with the express purpose of letting them hit to see if one of them ended up sticking. But Ace wasn't worried about himself. This was a time to be thinking of Lu-

"He's got a paramecia, you know, like me. His is kind of a weird one, it borders on the edge of Logia. But since rubber's not an element- it's not the same." Quinn steamrolled right past his internal crisis. "Paramecia is… simplest way to put it, it's a colloquial term for everything that doesn't fall into the other categories. I can control luck, he's rubber, I'm sure some asshole is a paper clip."

She shrugged and made a sort of wishy-washy hand motion.

"Basically, that's Devil Fruits. Eat two and you die, and if a user dies, the Devil Fruit reappears into the nearest fruit of the same species it originated from. Which is why Roddie had cherries when he tried to kill me."

Kat jerked. "Wait, someone tried to kill you? Who?"

They both waved him off, saying in unison, "No one important."

"It sounds important. When was this?"

"Island I met Quinn on," Ace stabbed a finger at her over his shoulder.

"Oh! Your home island."

"N-Nah. I mean, technically." She rubbed the back of her head a bit sheepishly, not really knowing what to say about it. She didn't want to talk about it. "Uh- Anyways." Kat frowns as she fails to elaborate. "Ace, I wouldn't worry too much about your brother. I'm sure he'll be responsible enough to figure it out before it becomes a problem." She- of course- knows she's completely full of shit.

But she still enjoys the way Ace's face shifts, looking like he didn't know whether to laugh at the obvious mistake or because of sheer disbelief. It still resulted in an absolutely animated laugh though. "Chehaha-! Yeah, right. I'm pretty sure that he'd-"

The door suddenly slams open

Kat almost jumps out of his skin.

"Uh," Quinn stares at the breathless man, "Can we help you?"

He's an old man, greying hair, wrinkly skin, and all of that jazz. And completely unable to speak as he turns nearly blue from trying to catch his breath, hands on his knees. Ace slides back into his seat. He'd jumped to his feet as soon as the door had opened, fingers flickering.

"You- You're the pirates right?!"

"Depends. Who's asking?"

Apparently, that's all the answer he needed. Because he lights up. "Hey, guys, they're in here!"

The trio exchange looks.

"Do you know what this is about?"

"Mn, no."

There's a sudden rush of footsteps and they all jump back in surprise as the room is being filled with people and chatter and-

Ace blinks rapidly a few times as the old man clasps his hands and falls to his knees. "You're the Captain, right?! Thank you-" Ace makes a face as tears spring to his eyes. "Please, let us throw a party in your honor, you've helped free us for another day! Thank you!"

"I-" His brain short circuited, but one word stuck out above all else, "Party?"

…

…

Cona hums over the glass of whiskey in her hands. She desperately needed the drink. After today, er- the last two days she should say, her brain was about to explode from the stress and the sweet release of alcohol finally seemed to ease her bones and bruises. It helped numb the throbbing in the side of her head. After nursing her wounds and having the girls pick out all the pieces of glass, they'd rubbed salves to keep infection away and wrapped bandages around her head. Thankfully, while the cuts were long and a few even deep, none were bad enough to need any stitches.

The party was in full-swing.

And she didn't know where to even look through the loud chatter and intense drinking and dancing. Through the crowd, she thinks she can pick out the pirate Captain tearing through food like it's been months since he'd eaten and then some. He had also seemingly discovered mixing alcohol beverages together and, oh, Cona was sure that he would have a massive hangover the morning after.

The red head was dancing like he'd never danced before-

Which wasn't a description of intensity.

Cona thinks he'd never danced a day in his life. She thinks he might have just elbowed someone actually- Oh, they were on the floor. He was apologizing. Ah.

And the glaring woman wasn't glaring for once. Though she'd removed herself from the center of attention, she'd taken a while to find actually, seemingly hiding in the dark corner of a booth by the window and continuing to nurse her wounds. Currently turning down the poor advances of one of the pervy old men trying to ask for her hand to dance before turning back to watching the party like Cona had been doing, though with the absence of a drink. Too busy smiling, almost softly as she observed her crewmates hijinks.

It wasn't the best idea. To throw a party. But with the shutters closed and the turn of the day towards the evening now, there was less of a need to hide. Just for tonight.

Cona assumed Salt was around somewhere, joining the festivities.

That is, until she sees the thin girl hop down the stairs, a box under her arm and a determined expression on her face as she walks out the door without so much as a goodbye.

Quietly, Cona drains her drink and sighs. She's sure that she'll be alright. She'll check for her if she's out for too long but Cona _thinks_ she'll be okay by herself for now. There wasn't that much of a reason to be worried anymore anyways.

She wondered where the Bartender had gone to though, that woman- always acting so tough. Cona just wanted to keep sharing drinks with her until it was late into the night and they could finally curl up together and do nothing but sleep. "She's missing out on everything…"

Unbeknownst, to her, the Bartender wasn't too far away. Handling making them both drinks with practiced finesse and flourish from steady hands and years of practice, it didn't matter how drunk she already was- the burn of alcohol had long since stopped having an effect on her capabilities.

Nor did they affect the firmness in her voice or the clarity in which she dialed a number that she'd rather not. On a snail that she'd always wished she didn't have.

"Hello, this is the Twin Isles Spice Factory, proud provider to the Celestial Dragons, how may I help-?"

She rolled her eyes at the annoying, required spiel.

"Get a pen and start transcribing this. I'm from Starving Chang, some pirates are responsible for taking out those associates of the Factory that were in charge of keeping the people here in-check."

There's a long pause.

Then, a quiet, "...Are you sure you want to do this? Isn't this good for us all?"

She knocked her head back, eyeing the three pirates not paying her any mind.

"Not if we get blamed for it. Now, grab the damn pen."

They did so and she gave them descriptions and names, not going into detail of their abilities. It was a bare minimum, and the most sympathy she could offer the pirates. Even if she meant nothing to them, she still had a job to do. And she'd be damned if she let some no-name pirates potentially mess with her girls' safety. Even if they didn't mean to, even if they didn't know that they _had._

-0-

"Sir!"

The tower has many stairs, and running up from the bottom floor has his knees weak and his breath coming out in high pitched gasps that couldn't get enough air back in his lungs. He has papers in his hands, a simple transcript with colorful notes quickly scrawled across it in red. He'd only fallen up the stairs twice and crumpled them a little bit on the way up.

"Huff, huff- _Sir_!"

He wheezes.

It's making his voice come out small and pathetic and takes a while longer for the Captain to turn around.

"Sir," he quickly offers the papers to him, lest he be punished for bothering him without a purpose, "apparently pirates took out the guys at Starving Chang!"

"Who?"

"Pirates, sir, their names are-"

"No. Not them. Who was at Starving Chang, I didn't authorize anyone over there."

He gulps down a deep breath of air and, while he's still huffing and puffing, it lets him speak without having to stop mid sentence. "Uh… sir?" But he was too confused to do anything other then remind him about the group that had vowed to keep Starving Chang in order for them, so they didn't have to spread too many of their resources over two islands. "It was the men from the bandit group that used to operate here, before the Factory became financed by the government, they allied with us, remember?"

The Captain's face blanks and he stares off to space for a long… _long_ … time.

"...Oh, those dweebs. Good. They were annoying." He shrugs. "Why are you telling me? We should give those pirates a medal of commendation."

"B-But sir! What if they start messing with the factory?"

He stares once again.

Then starts laughing.

"Fah, you're hilarious! I didn't know we had such a funny guy workin' here."

"S-Sir-?"

"It's a well known fact that we're employed by the Celestial Dragons. They'd have to be crazy. Or have a death wish." He yawns into his hand. "Anyways, now that they're gone, there's no one to keep the people in check any longer." He pauses. "Or the brothels. Aw, I liked going there too! Too bad we'll have to send a message now."

He grows pale, the papers in his hands, still yet to be taken, crinkling under his fingers.

" _What?_ "

He- He had family hiding there.

The Captain's laughter only grows. "They think I don't know they've been stealing our workers away."

"Y-You… knew this the whole time?"

"Of course, I did. But I liked those places. The women there are fun, if you know what I mean." He raps a hand against his chest before sighing. "Really gonna miss those places." And he doesn't get a chance to say anything before the Captain is calling over his shoulder, hand cupping around his mouth, making him suddenly aware of the odd presence hiding in a dark corner of the room. "Oh~ Mime!"

Long legs and arms, wreathed in black and black and white stripes, the painted face that stands almost twelve feet off the ground with a penciled on and permanent smile. The… person… it resembles a human. But there's features that are just not quite-

_Right._

They look correct at a first glance but the more he stares, the more he can pick out, finding that every little bit that should make it human, is just **wrong.**

Yellow eyes flicker with rapid movement.

"...I-"

The Captain is not unsettled by it. He simply smiles, "Be a dear, go clean that little mess up, will you? Kill those pirates as well. As good a deed as it was, they're still just a pack of lowly criminals."

The Mime takes the paper from him and he flinches back.

It receives a fake smile.

"Oh! And my favorite worker's little sister has been going out of her way to mess with things, get rid of her- it'll help keep her precious older brother in check." He adds quickly: "The second one. The first and third sister are annoying, but fine. For now."

-0-

He's drunk.

So very obviously drunk that she doesn't know whether to laugh or be concerned.

Just… he is so impossibly drunk. Quinn even leans out of the booth seat on the off chance that he passes out standing up and she needs to run and catch him. Even if he's a fire man now, she doesn't think that'll keep him from drowning in his own vomit-

Actually, with the amount of alcohol flowing around the room, she's suddenly afraid that it may all go up in flames if he dares to light off a spark.

Surprisingly, even for his age, he's clearly experienced in holding his liquor. But that's not going to help when he's gone and made such a blend of different concoctions, uncaring to the percentage he's intaking, and had enough that Quinn was pretty sure that a normal person would be dead right now. The only thing keeping her from flatout stopping the influx of drinks is that the women, by this point, seemed to have noticed his overwhelming intoxication and were now limiting him to sparkling water. Not that he seemingly noticed.

"Uh, hey, Ace," still, she thinks he should sit down, "you cool there?"

He squints at her. He'd been passing by with a tray piled high with enough food that it made her sick just looking. "Nah," well, at least he noticed, "I'm fire now. How can I be cool?" Oh no.

"Keheh, my bad."

He goes to hang out where he had been and Quinn quickly catches the back of his shirt. "Hold on, why don't you sit with me for now? I don't think the people over there can hold their drinks anymore." The group had tasted some of Ace's experiments and been blown right out of the water. Most hadn't even gone for a second or third drink.

Ace shrugs and sits down across from her and she's immediately sagging in relief, "What'cha got there?" Grey eyes drift to her own glass.

"Water. You should try it some time." He snorts. "I don't like drinking."

He blows a raspberry her way. "What kind of pirate doesn't drink?"

"I'll just be a weird one then."

"Weird pirate with bad plans…"

Quinn feels her eye twitch. "Okay, if I admit that I could've come up with something better, will you let it go?"

He's too busy eating but with the way he grins she'll take it as a sign of agreement to the proposal. She still rolls her eyes.

"Why don't you like drinking?" He eventually asks. It's through a mouthful of food, which has her wrinkling her nose in disgust and looking away, so it comes out sounding more like ' _whishdonoohikdring_ ' but Quinn can translate well enough.

"I don't like being drunk." _Especially like you are,_ she doesn't say.

"But why?"

' _Busheiye?_ '

"Don't like the hangover." Oh, he's going to have a gnarly one to deal with tomorrow morning, she's sure. Unless he's one of those weird ones who doesn't get them until he's older which sounds more likely to be honest. "Also, don't like not knowing what I did the night before." Or who.

But, unfortunately, Quinn was lying. Those were two very true, good reasons but they weren't the definitive one.

Ah, if only Ace knew the _real_ reason she didn't like getting drunk. He'd make fun of her for days.

...Quinn was an emotional wreck of a drunk who couldn't hold her tongue to save her life. Too busy crying over dumb things and panicking about trivial pursuits and complimenting all the people she met or-

One time she'd remembered vaguely sobbing, full-blown sobbing, about an old Tamagotchi dying. From when she was five. Someone had mentioned their dog passing away and she'd cried over a _toy_.

And, if it was among friends and hell, even strangers, she'd get all sentimental and shit. Recollecting random memories that meant literally nothing, like buying a bag of chips with one of them, or coming up with some, frankly hilarious, stories that were just plain untrue.

Quinn was not ready to expose herself like that, ever again. Definitely not in front of someone who could technically be considered her freaking _boss_. Even if she figured they were technically friends first.

Ace suddenly turned a little green around the gills. "Hrnf…"

"Woah, you okay, Ace?"

She ducks her head into her hands as he belches in response. Groaning an incredibly pained, "...Nice. Thanks for looking in my direction as you did that."

He grins. "You're welcome, Quinn!"

"Just. Eat your damn food."

Ace, by comparison, seemed to be a relatively happy drunk who seemed surprisingly willing to go along with most of what people tell him to do. She's thanking whatever god is out there that nobody ended up suggesting he set anything on fire when he'd begun to show off his Devil Fruit powers some part way through the night. They'd honestly probably thought it was some sort of fever dream if Quinn considered it.

Quinn sighs and turns away, fingers tapping against her cheek in an odd sort of pattern that made her feel like she could play the piano. She can't stand to actively watch him engorge himself. It's too confounding to even think about, an eldritch abomination of a concept that threatens her mind as it tries to grasp for a reasonable explanation as to _'just h_ ow _can he eat so much food?!'_

"Kat looks like he's enjoying himself."

She catches sight of the red head. He'd thankfully stayed away from drinks as well. Quinn wouldn't have known what to do if he'd dove into it- she really didn't want to see her 6-years-her-junior drown himself in alcohol like Ace did. She could justimagine watching all the brain cells dying.

Ace perks up.

Strangely, he actually swallows before speaking this time, Quinn thanks the small graces, "Hey, his mask is finally gone!"

It is.

He'd gotten rid of it when Ace had gotten shot, not that the oblivious-to-emotions-dealing-with-him even noticed.

He hadn't made to hide his face since then, at least not in the same way. Kat still tried to keep his mismatched batch of teeth hidden beneath uncomfortable looking, closed lipped smiles, even if the green around his face and his scarred gills were now clearly visible to all. A few gave him wide looks and initial gasps but they were, thankfully, buried in drinks and the overflowing joy that seemed to seep off of everyone.

Who knew that beating up their little problem would make them so happy?

Though, Quinn mostly hid to be honest. Letting Kat and Ace have all the "fun".

"Oh, that's cool! I wonder if I can do that with my fire?!"

Quinn quickly grasps his hands and gently lowers them back to the table. "H-How about you wait and do that when you're sober, huh?"

Kat was busy showing off his water powers with one clawed hand, making shapes from drinks as he delighted in entertaining the group of women, men, and children who were practically screaming in laughter. A dolphin, a crab, a lobster, the Beast, and even a mock impression of the men they had fought earlier screaming in terror. It had Quinn covering her mouth when he started making, frankly, quite horrendous voices for them.

Ace chuckled, glancing between his two crewmates. Even if Quinn hadn't joined in with the majority of the party, they both seemed to be enjoying themselves just fine. "I bet I can make even better shapes-" He turns green again.

"Don't look at me this time!"

He turns away just in time to throw up in the corner of the seat.

Quinn leaves an afterimage in the speed of leaping to her feet. Face a mix of disgust and worry as Ace heaves, "Okay, okay," she grabs napkins and hands them to him, letting him wipe off his face. She quickly calls over her shoulder, "Clean up in the corner booth!"

A few groan in response but leave to, presumably, find cleaning supplies.

And Ace leans onto the table, muttering, "'M fine. 'M fine." all the while he's rubbing his brow, face pale and looking like he's dealing with a cold sweat. He can feel his stomach gurgling unhappily and he presses his fist to his mouth, blowing out air in a not-quite burp. All he can taste is bile.

Is- Is this what being sick is like? Ace moaned lightly. Because it freaking _sucked._

"Nope, no, no you're _so_ not, mister."

Seeing that he's quickly beginning to turn green again Quinn is more than willing to call bullshit.

"Maybe if I eat it'll go away?"

He suggests and droops at her flat look.

"Not that easy?"

"Not at all." Quinn sighs and runs her hands through her hair as he turns and vomits again. "Oh, you'll just make it worse if I leave you alone, won't you?"

The only response she gets is him laying on the table and, in complete disbelief, whining. "Ugh- what is this? I'll never make fun of the bandits acting like babies when they're sick again!" She thinks she might see tears in the corner of his eyes. "Damn it, it hurts…"

She can't help it. Her lip is trembling and she has to squint her eyes, she can't even look at him. "R-Right- Keh. Of course, it'll all be… snk, it'll all be okay, Ace."

"Are you _laughing?_ " His voice cracks a bit in the midst of his disbelief. "You're too cruel."

"N-No, I'm fine. Completely normal." She has half her face buried in one hand while her other attempts to wave off his wounded expression. Oh, his pride was taking a beating for sure. "Okay," she takes a deep breath and pushes the laughter down, "Okay. I'm good now. Come on, big tough and scary Captain-man, let's get you better."

" _Quinn…_ "

From the looks of it he is not appreciating her comments.

She doesn't know how he wouldn't.

Quinn thinks she's funny.

She gestures for him to wrap his arm around her shoulder and when he doesn't move, he receives a flat, "Do you want me to help you or not?" And Ace begrudgingly does so. A good thing too because his knees suddenly feel weak and he's suddenly light headed enough that it makes Quinn stumble under all his weight leaning against her. "Oof, you're not going to pass out, are you?"

It's not helpful that he doesn't answer.

She quickly drags him over to Kat's table. "Hey, Kat."

The redhead whips around to grin, it falls when he sees Ace hanging off her shoulder. Looking greener around the gills than even he was. And that's saying something. "I- Did something happen?"

Quinn shakes her head. "Nah, Ace just drank too much. I'm gonna go help him, kay? You cool here?" She felt sorry for bothering him while he was clearly having fun.

"I- yeah, but, I can help? Do you need me to-"

"I got it." She shoulders Ace up a bit, he's hanging his head and leaning a bit too heavily. "You can keep enjoying yourself, just wanted to let you know where we're going. You know, so you didn't think we disappeared or anything." She'd had a couple friends pull that on her a few times and let's just say- dick move. She'd actually gotten pretty concerned for them. And had spent most of the nights searching through frats to make sure they weren't in any trouble.

She pauses.

Then adds. "Don't drink anything alcoholic. I'm not taking care of two idiots tonight."

Ace makes a noise against her shoulder that sounds decidedly pained.

"...Thanks…" He moans into the crux of her neck and she catches a whiff of his gross breath and immediately makes a face.

"Just… don't breathe on me, please. It smells."

He groans but nods.

"Is this what being sick is normally like?"

"What? Have you never gotten sick before?"

"No?"

He seemed honestly confused on why that would be odd.

"I think I've heard of an old saying…" They were making their way up the stairs and the continuous conversation seemed to help him get along. "That idiots can't get sick."

"Not funny."

"Kehehe." She carefully guides him towards the next set of stairs, checking to make sure he wasn't going to suddenly throw up as they were moving or completely pass out on her side. "Well, being sick can get much, much worse than this. I assure you. At least you'll feel better sometime tomorrow?"

"Can't I just throw up and- urk- get better?"

"I wish that was how all health issues worked…" Quinn muttered before shaking her head. "No, and you're really not proving that idiot part wrong." He shoves her. "Hey-! I'm the one carrying you, remember? Maybe don't drink so much that you look like you're about to blackout."

"Stop…" He moans and Quinn feels her eyes roll.

Yeah, he probably doesn't want to hear her nagging right now.

Still.

Ace's head feels impossibly heavy and it has his neck rolling with the weight as he tries to raise it back up and look ahead. He just feels gross and sweaty. And, damn it, maybe Quinn was right- but he'd be damned if he let her know it. "Why're we here?" He groans as Quinn opens a door.

To the bathroom.

"So you can vomit to your heart's content."

"I'm not going to-"

He suddenly doesn't look too good and Quinn let's go to watch him rush to the toilet, rubbing her forehead with an exasperated sigh. Who knew that despite worlds she'd still be dealing with helping younger peers hold their hair back as they vomiting in the middle of a party. "Just like good ol' college, ain't it, Quinn?" She mumbles and goes to wash her hands. Pretending like she wasn't already carefully pining her own hair back and wondering if there happened to be any gloves or hand sanitizer in one of the many drawers or bottles on the counter.

Ah, no luck. Dang.

...

...

The fighting had been chaotic.

More so than she can describe. But Salt didn't care about the fire and the water and the lack of an explanation she had been provided, not when she had gotten this out of it. She hefts the box a bit higher on her hip.

It'd eventually stopped raining. Sometime before they had left. And now the ground was slick and covered with muddy puddles that raised the dirt and had her going out of her way to take the long way. She just needed to find a dry spot on the edge of the island, where no one could find her.

Salt smiled to herself lightly.

In the midst of fighting and helping Cona along, they'd found themselves in a room that had been, as Cona told it, where they'd penned the Den Den Mushi. A man had been running there to make a call for help and, upon finding the room dead, had only taken a quick jab to the back of the head before getting knocked out. Salt had been proud of herself for that. Even if it had made her hand ache and been harder than she expected.

And then she'd discovered an open window.

Cona had said, "I tossed the ones that could still live out there."

Salt could see it.

Picking up a dopey-looking snail that hadn't managed to make it more than a few feet away from the window. She recognized it as the one they had confiscated from her when she'd made to call for help before. And she quickly pocketed it. It didn't matter if there wasn't anything to connect it to calls anymore.

She could work with this.

Salt practically skipped as she found the spot she had in mind.

She couldn't fight. No, Salt wasn't strong, but she knew her way around machines. At least these ones. And, with all the parts and pieces that she could find in the halls of the brothel, she could make her own transmission. She'd done it before. She just had to make it look like she was making a call to the Factory at the same time. That way, they wouldn't scramble it.

Salt set the snail next to the box.

It was time to get to work.

…

…

He's rather brought this on himself, hasn't he? Usually the people she helped didn't eat as much as he had.

If anything in the last few days.

She almost wished she was back playing nurse with them. At least her knees wouldn't be hurting from sitting in a kneeling position for so long. Ah, but she'd be lying if it wasn't better to _not_ be helping a complete stranger in an emotional state that she definitely didn't want to hear about versus someone she knew- who was just being stupid for once.

It's probably a good thing that he's so out of it. Quinn's mind has been wandering.

And, as it's been established, it's nowhere good that it ends up.

"...Hey, Ace?"

He's groaning in answer, forehead on the toilet seat and appreciating the fingers that run through his hair as she looks for a rubber band to pull it back.

"Mn, is… is the only reason you recruited me because of my devil fruit?"

"What are you talking about-"

He turns green and is vomiting again. Quinn winces and rubs his back, hand making circles between his shoulder blades. It's probably not the best time to bring up her destructive thoughts but she doesn't know when she'll get a good chance to. If ever. Doesn't know if she should even give herself an actual chance. At least, though, with him drunk and looking to be on the fast track to a terrible hangover, she doubts he'll remember.

"Sorry, sorry. I mean, I already know the answer. I guess I just wanted to be wrong." She sighs.

Quinn feels her fingers brush up against a pair of loose rubber bands and he stops hurling for a minute, long enough that she can carefully braid back his bangs before tying them down and using bobby pins to hold them back. Finally able to let go. It was the only part of his hair long enough to get in front of his face. "There we go, that should help."

He leans against the seat, breathing heavily, cheek smooshed and eyes dark with tiredness. He'd gotten about the same amount of sleep as her and seemed to be much less used to it. She slides a glass of water over towards him. He just stares, looking dazed and confused.

Quinn can't help but let out a little laugh at him.

"Ah, nevermind, don't worry about it."

It's such a bad time to ask anyway.

He blinks slowly, dopey.

"Quinn…" He shudders. "Why are you always so hard on yourself…?"

"Keh. Why are you?"

He shrugs.

Couple of poor sods, aren't they?

She slumps back against the cupboard, fiddling with her hands between her knees. "I… hope I'll be able to be wrong. In the future, I mean. It's… okay for right now. I understand. I'm not worth much right now." She looks up at the ceiling, smiling. "So I'll try and be someone worth having stick around on your crew, 'kay?."

He looks like he's going to be sick again.

"What are you talking about-? You already are."

Quinn can't help but smile like she believes him. Oh, she wished that she could. To just be enough as herself. But she wasn't so naive to think that-

She'd never been enough before. And this wasn't any different. It didn't matter what world she was in.

-0-

Nest Island.

They claim it to be an uninhabitable mess of invasive species and wild animals that threaten to tear anyone who sets foot on it to shreds. They'd be right. For the most part.

He wasn't just anyone.

The sword, easily the length of his body, makes a high pitched noise as it glides to a stop, following the extension of his arm. "Ah," he eyes the fallen monstrosity on the ground, a praying mantis that's head nearly clears the tree tops, "Is it just curiosity that has them all wondering what my blade tastes like?"

He supposed he could understand. There was always an interest towards flavor.

It didn't matter who or what you were; if you were a god or the lowliest of animals, everyone craved taste. It was one of the few honest things in this world.

But you would think they would get sick of steel eventually.

"...I wonder how you would taste sautéed?"


	12. Twin Isle: Nest: An Island Of Giant Bugs and The Man That Catches Them! Ace vs. Spice!

Oh, that doesn't look good.

Wow. Oh, that- actually, Kat cringes, that _really_ doesn't look good.

"Go on. Say it."

He pointedly looks away, refusing to acknowledge her. He can't help it though- Kat glances back.

"Say your piece."

He knows he shouldn't. He really, really shouldn't. Even with her permission it was a bad idea to make any sort of comment. And he's already feeling guilty before he even opens his mouth because Kat also knows himself and that, once he starts talking, he's not going to stop until he's either bit his tongue or is done.

Quinn waits.

He leans forward and squints at her face, "...It's super ugly."

Ah, well, maybe not so blunt.

"L-Like- I've gotten bruises before, plenty! But it… it looks like someone just picked up a paintbrush and started painting your face purple." She breathes a deep sigh out through her nose. She expected as much. "And… your shoulders, too!"

Yeah, it was pretty bad. It was all she could focus on. Trying to ignore the throbbing just had failure written all over it.

"It's just so ugly. I mean, seriously? I always heard of being beaten black and blue and I thought I'd gotten pretty close to it before-"

"Kat…"

He stammers. "But _you_ -!"

"Kat."

Oh, he's starting to ramble and he can't stop.

"You just look unfortunate!"

Quinn would facepalm if she could, as it was, all she could do was look up at the ceiling and let out a long suffering sigh. Ah, she invited this, didn't she? She shouldn't feel as exasperated as she did. "As always: Wow, thanks."

There's giggles behind him and he flushes, words stuttering as he gets even more flustered.

"A-Aa, I didn't mean it like that! You're not ugly, your face is just wrong-" Quinn inhales her drink and chokes. "I MEAN?! NO? THA- That's not what I meant to say at all!" The laughter behind him doubles.

She's too busy trying to catch her breath.

"You-"

She gets it back under control. And Quinn takes a slow, long sip of her coffee as she watches him grow increasingly beet red. Using the mug to hide her own silent laughter.

"You're-"

He doesn't bite his tongue, for once. But, in this moment, Kat feels cursed because he desperately wished he had. It feels like it's tied in knots and he feels sick and he just can't stop rambling even though he wanted to so, so bad-

"You're pretty?"

It's his poor attempt at recovery and he fixes an incredibly pained-looking, awkward smile on his face. Internally, he's shrieking. And slamming his face down to hide under his arm- he can't even look her in the eye!

Quinn groans, "...Oh, _Kat_ …" and shakes her head. She doesn't know whether to be sympathetic to his continued plight at social interaction or to die laughing. She's too tired to figure it out so she settles for pushing his plate towards him. "Please, just… eat your food already."

It's morning.

Far earlier than any of them had a right to be up, really.

And Kat is busy taking Quinn's suggestion to heart and stuffing his face, shoveling as much of his breakfast as he can down his throat. All the while Quinn nurses a cup of coffee and uses her bangs as a shield to hide her face behind, wincing if she so much as twitches wrong. Because he hadn't gotten to see much of her injuries the night before, too covered by ice and hands prodding at the hurt skin- what bruise there had been at the time had mostly been bright and giant red marks and a bit of blood still running from her nose.

Now, though, it'd had time to fester and Kat found himself weirdly unable to tear his gaze away.

"...Wow, they… they _really_ got you good, huh?"

He manages to say in between bites.

She grimaces. Even that- hurts. "Sure did."

Kat wasn't lying when he said it was ugly. It was the first thing his eyes, and presumably everyone else's, had immediately zeroed in on when she'd come down from their room.

The bridge of her nose and under her eyes was almost entirely a different color; definitely a different shade. The normally brown skin had been stained with splotches of purple, yellow, and blue that not only looked like it was beyond painful, but also just seemed traumatic. And Kat wasn't a stranger to bruises, but damn- There were even creeping cracks of red and purple where blood vessels had burst and he wouldn't have been surprised if she'd said her nose had been broken.

Kat didn't even want to get started on what he managed to see against her shoulders and back before she'd tossed her jacket on and effectively hid them all from view. Something also told him there was another few bruises on her wrist and knees, though he couldn't get the chance to actually see it because of the sleeves she always wore.

Still. He could see that, when she accidentally got jostled moving, she would let out a low hiss and go to grip the offending spots. Which only had him feeling more and more concerned with every passing cringe.

Especially since she was oh so quickly burying it all beneath almost religiously taken sips of coffee.

Seriously. Kat was unsettled.

...Also he didn't think it was healthy to be drinking as much as she had been.

"Can…" Wait, no, that's a stupid question.

Quinn cast him a raised brow.

"If… If you keep drinking like that aren't you going to get sick at this rate? I mean, like Ace did." He accidentally catches the edge of his tongue and chokes. Well, shit. Where was that when he needed it? It has him shuddering. "-I mean, I know its not alcohol, but that… you've just had so many already. I can't even keep track."

She makes a face and he can tell that she hasn't been counting either.

Thankfully, a waitress walks by and says, "Four pots." And sounds just as concerned as Kat feels.

Quinn only hums. "Hm. I think I can go for one more. I have to make up for lost time." Kat can't do anything but make a face. It worsens when she just laughs at him. "Kehaha! Oh, it's fine. This stuff isn't that strong anyways."

"But…"

She pauses and then leans forward, as if she's trying to keep her voice down and tell him a secret. It's all for show, he should add by the way, because everyone can absolutely hear her and she definitely isn't trying all that hard either. Not even whispering, practically in a speaking voice. "It's insanely watered down. I think they added water to make it last longer." She makes a dissatisfied noise. "It tastes a little like dishwater."

The waitress that spoke up before turned blank faced.

"...I'm cutting you off."

"What- wait, no! I take it back-"

"Then why drink it?" Kat asks incredulously, cutting off Quinn's almost out-of-character complaints, drawing her attention back to their conversation. It was probably the most verbose whine he'd seen from her. And over _coffee_ too. "If it's gross then stop."

She falters in her grousing. Hunching down around her cup almost possessively, dark eyes glaring into the liquid, blowing at the steam that still rose off the little bit that still remained. It'd had time to settle while they'd been talking and Quinn gave herself a moment to breathe. Without the heat of the drink to scorch her tongue, it had her focus being brought back to the intense throbbing that she'd been trying to forcibly ignore.

Her voice comes out surprisingly small. "...Because I _need_ it."

The bartender walks by and snorts.

"Pathetic."

Quinn immediately bristles.

" _Hey_."

Kat pauses with his fork half way to his mouth in surprise, gazing jumping between the two older women. He didn't know why but Quinn's eyes flash dangerously as soon as she sees that it was the bartender who'd spoken. The sheer intensity of what could only be described as irritation to the highest degree as he watches her expression shift, looking close to maybe even anger actually. But Kat wasn't all that good at reading people so he couldn't say for sure- only able to toss in a guess. "Quinn?"

She blinks slowly. Whatever had come over her fades away just as quickly as it'd appeared. "Ah?" She still has a weird look though. And it might've only been because the bartender wandered off to where they couldn't see her anymore.

"I…" He's vaguely disturbed. "Nevermind."

And decides that it was probably best to just ignore it.

It might have even been his imagination. He didn't know what could've made her _that_ pissed off by the bartender of all people. Now, Cona, sure, he understood where that ire came from- it made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside, to know that she cared enough to be angry for him -but after the night they'd all had, they'd pretty much gotten over it. Even Ace. And he'd been _pissed_ initially. Speaking of his Captain… "Have you seen Ace by the way?"

"Nah."

Well, there goes that idea. Kat sighs. "I wanted to see if he wanted to start training up his immunity to water… you know, like you said he could."

"A-Aa. I said he _might._ He _might_ be able to." She stresses.

Kat looks completely unphased by the clarification. Just groans and says, "Aw man, he was already gone when I got up this morning too. I wanted to test some of my own things with him…"

Quinn doesn't quite manage to bring her cup all the way up to her lips.

"...What?"

"Hm?"

Her mouth opens and closes in disbelief, "I got up after you. What do you mean he was already gone when you got up?"

"I mean… just that?" He tentatively tries. Kat doesn't know what she wants him to say. "I don't… I don't understand the question."

She doesn't speak for a long moment.

Quinn slowly places her cup on the table, face frozen until she sucks in a long suffering sigh. "Kat," she presses her hands together and then to her lips, "are you saying that you haven't seen Ace since you walked into our room last night and found him passed out on the floor?"

"Uhh…"

He'd stumbled up the stairs sometime towards the parties end. In the hopes of catching up to Quinn and Ace, seeing as the two hadn't rejoined the party like he'd expected them to. Or, at least, he did with Quinn. He wasn't sure if Ace would be up for it anymore.

But, when he'd taken a chance to look around, there wasn't any sign of them. It had him wondering if something had happened while he was downstairs and quicking hopping up the steps two at a time so he could go find them. Only to discover Ace passed out on the floor of their room and Quinn tossing an extra blanket she'd managed to steal over the top of him. Even asleep Ace still looked queasy and decidedly paler than normal.

Quinn had raised a finger to her lips in the universal sign for shush before preparing for bed herself.

And that was it.

When he'd gotten up it'd been to Ace's bedding folded neatly and no sign of the cowboy-toting pirate.

"...um."

From the lack of answer, she'll take that as a yes.

Quinn buries her head in her hands. "Damn it, Ace. Why do you do this?" And couldn't help but remember a conversation that felt like it was weeks old and not just the other day.

_"You're planning on going to Nest Island, aren't you?"_

_"You said not to."_

_"But is that going to really stop you?"_

_He's back to looking cheeky, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "No."_

"Oh my god."

She knew he'd go running off. If it was just something she'd forgotten about she wouldn't have been surprised, but to take off without even telling them?

"That… _ass!_ "

-0-

Ace didn't know why but he suddenly had the uncontrollable and unrestrained urge to laugh.

He quiets it to a chuckle and places a hand on his hat as he jumps out of their ship. It'd been a longer sail than he thought it'd be, especially considered that he could still see the shores of both of the Twin Isles. The Starving Changs' docks weren't outside of his sight just yet and the other Isle, the one that Cona had mentioned, he thinks it was called Hunt-? Hunting? He can't remember exactly. But he was much closer to it than he'd thought he'd be. Not close enough to see people or make much sense of the small buildings lining the edge of it but Ace thinks he can spot a thick line of black smoke billowing into the sky from the center of it. Drifting slowly and lazily up into the air and beginning to darken the clouds above.

Ah, but that didn't really matter, did it?

Because Ace can say with a marked certainty that, the moment his boots hit dirt on Nest, that this island was weird. It just… felt weird. Not necessarily in a bad way.

It wasn't that the tall trees with thick trunks stretched far enough that even the bottom most branches were easily a few stories up that was weird; or that, as soon as he'd stepped onto solid ground, the forest fell into a deep silence that would've scared most; or that Ace suddenly had the intense and uncomfortable feeling that he was being watched, from multiple places… Nope. That had nothing to do with it.

Ace felt his already present smile inch a little further across his face.

It felt familiar.

Different and weird, sure, but familiar.

It felt like Mt. Colubo.

Just not quite.

It couldn't. Because there was no Luffy or bandits or Windmill Village just a walk away, so it wasn't the same in that respect. But something told him that, if he wanted to find something to fight, something like what he's used to- it wouldn't be too hard anymore. Ace can feel himself practically vibrating out of his boots in excitement.

The trees seem to shudder and the sun gets swallowed by their heights before long, the warmth disappearing off his back as he descends into the tall foliage. There's still no sounds, not even distant ones, and it's strange but he can't help but fall into the hush with bated breath that-

There's flashes of color between the trees.

Blue and yellow.

He stops.

And listens.

To the familiar sounds of footsteps- of sandals and boots on the ground; of giddy laughter and jovialness and content; the childish adventures as they'd race beyond the treehouse and riverside. For just a moment, he thinks he can really see their smiles getting tossed his way, gleams of silver in their hands.

_"Ace! Can we eat crocodiles today?!"_

_"Oy, don't go and bother Luffy! He's still weak and a crybaby, but he's our brother, yeah?"_

They're running and disappearing between the trees and Ace feels his gaze soften and turn fond as their forms change in his mind's eye.

_"C'mon! We beat the Tiger Lord, we can take on any of the animals in this forest!"_

_"Luffy-?"_

_"Idiot! That doesn't mean you can just run up to a bear!"_

The memories play like a reel. And, before long, there's only Luffy calling out to him. In a voice that's grown older since they first met. That sometimes cracks and breaks and turns into a high pitched creaking noise that makes Ace laugh and grow slightly sad all the same- (He wondered what Sabo would have sounded like?) -A sign of the years passing.

_"Ace, I caught a crocodile all by myself! It only ate me once!"_

_"Ow-! Damn. I hit myself again…"_

_"Oyy, Ace. I figured out a new technique, I'm definitely going to beat you this time!"_

It's not that anything in particular stands out. It's not as if there's any one, individual memory that jumps to the forefront of his mind and has him grinning like a fool- no, the silly smile that shows like the sun on his face was something he did all on his own. Because they were all good, and they all made him glow.

Whether they were old or fresh or who they contained.

Even if Sabo was a bit blurry on the edges and there were thoughts of what he might have been and- It just mattered that he could still remember the both of them smiling and thriving with life, that at least that was clear, as they both turned to him in unison and-

" _Ace!_ "

It's… not as if he can actually see them.

But reminiscent shadows are just as real as they were the day they happened.

And the island in all it's familiarity had his head bubbling over with images of them and Ace wasn't about to just ignore the echoes of remembrance that the land brought out of him. It was just too easy to close his eyes, pull the brim of his hat down, and sink into the sounds of their voices in the forest's hush.

Ace usually didn't enjoy falling into his own ruminations- Sixis was a testament to that fact, the sudden and unwanted isolation had dredged up fears and dreadful things -but this? This is something he could get behind because it was _different._ There wasn't a concern about whether Quinn and Kat would be behind him anymore, not like before.

_"We found you before, didn't we? It just took a while. What makes you think we wouldn't come again?"_

He'd blown her off in the moment.

It-

Quinn was just too good at reading people. Or just him, specifically. He didn't know whether to be impressed or annoyed by it but, with how she seemed to be turning it on him whenever she got the chance, Ace was more inclined to be irritated. He'd thought that he'd actually been pretty successful in the little white lie, it'd been enough to ease his mind into solace.

Apparently not good enough for her though.

Because the blank look she'd fallen into before saying he was full of crap had been immediate and creepy.

For a split second, it felt almost as if she had already known what was going through his head before even he did. That she could see right through him and figure out each and every one of his secrets before he could even say them. Her gaze feeling just a bit too on-the-nose to be normal, a deadly accuracy that he was definitely not comfortable with and Ace had- He'd only been able to open and close his mouth, unable to make a sound, in dumbfounded surprise. Thanking whatever devil there was on his side that it'd quickly fallen away before he could read too much into it and Quinn turned almost downright frustrated.

Weird. For some reason he couldn't tell if it was because of him or her. And Ace- well, Ace could admit that he may have overreacted a little bit and it didn't help the situation that he'd only been able to turn away in response. Pretending like he didn't feel the way her eyes lingered on his back in something approaching disappointment.

It was just…

That _look._

It'd made his stomach drop and his thoughts stutter to a halt. And Ace had taken one from her book and bit his lip as memories of that _stupid question_ suddenly assaulted his head. He already knew the answer from dinky bars with strangers that made his blood boil from even a young age- all in the hopes that maybe, maybe one day he'd get a different answer. A better one, one he wanted to hear.

He never really did.

Not even Garp had tried to put his thoughts to rest. He thought he'd been about to, until he didn't.

Ace felt his fingers twitch for his pipe, even though he hadn't used it since Sabo, he was still surprised when his hands only grasped his large hunting knife. The motion had him tensing as he realized- no. He definitely didn't have it anymore. And, more than that, he didn't need it.

Because it was Quinn. And not old bar-goers with slurred speech in need of a few less brain cells.

He couldn't exactly blame her. Should've expected it, even.

It still pissed him off.

Because he'd been about to- to say something that he _knew_ he would regret.

And Ace didn't- now, that he was actually thinking about it, he didn't know much about Quinn's background or, well… her, really. Which was, that was its own problem, and, yeah, she'd mentioned her grandmother and it didn't really matter. But he could hazard a guess- She just sounded too educated sometimes to not be from a noble or higher class and even acted like it sometimes, too-

He wasn't stupid.

He had a vague idea about the kinds of things they taught- about pirates and the King and- and the potential of someone like him. And, while it said something about her that she'd pulled away from that life, he wasn't so naive to think- to actually _believe_ that she would be different.

And he didn't- Ace didn't want to lose a crewmember. Not over **him,** not _because of_ **him.**

Even normal, everyday people would despise him and wish him dead- hell, even criminals, even other pirates! It was stupid to think, for even a moment, that Quinn would want to stay.

So he'd rolled over. Trying not to think about the sown flames that made him think twice, even when it shouldn't have; almost convincing him to turn around and- not exactly spill his guts -but, maybe, ask the question again.

"If… the Pirate King had a son…?"

Would she be any different?

It'd admittedly been what had kept him up. And it was a small favor that she'd thought it was because he was worried over setting something on fire while he was sleeping-

(Which, if it wasn't for the reassurance she offered, he would actually be starting to worry about whether or not that could happen.)

-And she'd seemingly been too tired to notice him jump on the opportunity to lie about it. Hell, he didn't feel bad about it at all.

Ace shook his head.

So long as Quinn and Kat didn't know then it wouldn't hurt them, he was sure it'd all be fine and work itself out. So long as he kept it a secret he could trust them to have his back. To be right around the corner.

Ace jumped up on one of the large roots that burst from the ground- "Ah, woah!" He felt his boots slide and nearly went rolling back until he managed to catch himself on the side of the tree, hand sinking into a fistful of moss. "Yeesh."

The forest still didn't break its quiet. Even as he looked over it all. There didn't seem to be anything.

It's odd to realize that Dawn Island and Goa Kingdom were almost an entire month away and that he has two crewmates and it's just- so much has already happened. Each and every piece of it all cementing further how different the rest of the world was. How… free it felt.

That their dream wasn't a hoax created by childish kids that were too stuck in their own heads to know any better.

Ace hears a growl, low and animal.

_A tiger._

Ace flicks his gaze to the direction it came from, eyeing the rustling bushes with a creeping smile. It's the first noise since he got here that he's heard and it's, "Fitting…" He muses. Playing around with the idea of turning his fists into flame once again, fingers tapping the strap of his bag. He ultimately decides against it. It'd probably only scare it away anyways.

And Ace wanted a fight.

"C'mon, Luffy. Sabo." He smirks. "Just like we used to, yeah?"

It's like he can hear their childlike laughter backing him up.

"Grr…"

He tenses in preparation. If it's anything like the Tiger Lord it might actually be able to put up a fight. He doesn't know how animals on other islands would compare to those on Mt. Colubo but he was hoping for something good.

The bushes split and it leapt-

" _T-T_ iny?!"

Ace gaped.

That's not-

It's tiny. Much smaller than any tiger he's ever seen, maybe the size of an average dog, not a-

It runs by him.

"...Okay. Definitely weird." He raised a brow as he watched it let out something close to a howl and run away. Not even noticing him from his spot atop the roots. Huh. If he didn't know any better he'd say that it looked like it'd been running away from something-

There's a loud rustling. And he tenses, falling into a crouch.

This one- It actually reminded him of the Tiger Lord when he'd approach. As if physically moving the trees out of the way with its weight and strength packed into every part of its body, breaths heavy and aura dangerous with sheer wilderness and beastial ability. An animal like the Tiger Lord was something he could defeat with ease but this one seemed different- he can't hear any breathing and instead there's an odd vibrating sound in the air.

He watches in shock as one of the trees is bent at the trunk by a green-scythe of an arm.

"T-That's…"

A green head tilts, as if curious, down at him.

Empty and beady black eyes staring. The buzz sounds distant as it fills the air, even though he can see exactly who's responsible for it.

_"...one big-ass bug!"_

It's head nearly clears the tree coverage and it's definitely much bigger than the Tiger Lord, it's stature was absolutely immense and impressive. And- "Ah, shit!" He swears and jumps back.

Its blade buried into the root where he once stood.

He can't help but let out an appreciative whistle. The thing- Mantis, Ace thinks -had managed to cleanly cleave right through all the wood and straight into the ground. "Chehaha! You look like you'd make a good experiment." Oh, this one won't get frightened away by a bit of fire. And he'd like to see how it holds up, already preparing to put his Devil Fruit into action and-

Ace freezes.

"Oh."

He stops, abruptly.

Well, there goes that idea. He lets his hand fall back to his side, normal.

"You're already dead, aren't you?"

It doesn't answer. Probably because it can't. Whether that's because it's a bug or because it's soon a pile of eerily sliced pieces in a heap on the ground in front of him- ha, well. It could go both ways.

Ace stared from beneath the brim of his hat, up at the man that falls to stand on top of the defeated body. Descending from the branches up above. And Ace keeps his smile firmly on his face as black eyes look down on him, one hand firmly placed on the hilt of his broadsword. Not… quite resheathing it back in its proper place across his back.

"You can be one of three things: stupid or insane."

Ace blinks.

Curious.

"What's the third option?"

The man is still high enough up that Ace actually has to call it out to him.

"Both."

Ace feels his brow twitch. "Chehehe." But laughs it off. "What about just being confident?"

"Aa. I see." He nods slowly, and Ace notices that his expression doesn't shift in the slightest. He looks almost entirely ambivalent to the conversation, stone faced. "It's stupid for sure then."

Ace huffs a breath.

"Then what's that make you?"

"Skilled."

"Oy. That wasn't one of the options."

He gives a lazy smirk. "Don't worry. I get my own category, kid."

It's an older man. Much older than Quinn, maybe even by a full decade. And his eyes hang almost gloomily beneath a thick brow with a slice missing from the right, expression not quite… blank but not emotive either. There's been clear effort put into his hair, the brown almost black dreads braided into an intricate, diamond pattern in rows. Pulled back and somehow used as its own ties to hold up a short but thick ponytail.

The broadsword and it's sheath are wrapped in leather, and beneath that it's a mustard yellow that makes the silver blade glint. It's simple and not much different compared to swords he's seen before, if not for sheer length. Given that the man nearly pushes eight feet, though, Ace thinks it's reasonable. Even if it's easily as long as his shoulders to his feet.

Ace eyes the blade and feels his grin turn absolutely feral in response. "Wanna see if I can make my own category too?"

It gets a raised brow.

But not a no.

Because fighting.

Fighting.

It was something that Ace knew intimately.

That said, a large portion of his experience was dealing with ferocious animals and unworthy-of-a-name thugs that rarely knew how to use a gun, much less a sword properly. The people that had taken to trying their luck in the forest on Mt. Colubo were usually doing a dare or trying to test their strength after arrogantly ignoring all the stories that surrounded it. Ace had snuck around enough to know that a large portion of those stories had something to do with him or his brother- which was flattering, to be honest.

But that wasn't meant to say that he was unskilled because of it- no, rather it said that, when someone with any actual skill came along, Ace got-

A little excited.

Especially when, as he went to attack, the sword was ripped entirely from its sheath and all his instincts kicked in just in time to have him throw himself back. Eye coming frighteningly close to being cleaved in half by the blade's tip.

"Nice sword!"

There's a twist and silver swipes across his front and he backflips further, one hand springboarding him into a crouch on a low root that puts him a few feet higher than him. It's easier to see. And now that he can Ace lets out another appreciative whistle, grin splitting across his face. "That's a broadsword, right? It's really cool! How long have you been using it fo-?"

"If I knew you just wanted to chat, I would've made dinner first."

"Ah," Ace rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "You're right, my bad. We're supposed to be fighting."

He proceeds to dropkick him in the face.

Or, at least, he attempts to.

Because the flat of the sword gets lifted in response, almost lazily, and shakes beneath the force of his kick. Yet, it stays strong. Even with the man holding it with only one hand.

An attempted punch gets parried and he's forced to dodge away once again.

Color Ace impressed.

It's a strange sort of exhilaration. One that only gets lit up further when the sword forces him off and slashes aiming to cut his chest are made with a practiced ease. It's not as if he's putting in a lot of effort, and normally an attitude like that would piss him off, but Ace isn't exactly giving it his all either. Too busy taking in the controlled finesse and swordsmanship of someone who actually knows what they're doing.

He can't get in close. Not directly, not like how he normally would, not without sacrificing a few things. The length of the blade didn't allow it, not with his moves as tight as they were. This was someone disciplined.

"Hey, why are you using one hand? That's a two-handed sword, isn't it?"

"You haven't exactly shown that you can handle two. How's the dodging going?"

Ah, well.

Ace wonders how'd he react if he got serious?

"Okay then!"

"That doesn't- _!_ "

He rushes him. It's direct and exactly what he shouldn't be doing- which is why, when the sword inevitably begins to come down, Ace already has a plan.

He slides, dirt and dust get tossed up, and he throws out a leg, just barely able to catch the hilt of the sword in his hand.

It jerks away.

Not out of grip, but far enough that his arm is forced back.

"What the-?!"

He doesn't even get a chance to finish before Ace bodies him. There's bursting flames and fire and he gets sent rolling, unable to stop until he digs his sword in the ground. Even then he still slides back a few inches.

"Didn't know you could bring the heat." He remarks slowly. Curiously. Oddly enough, he doesn't seem all that confused. Just surprised- in a detached sort of way. Ace really could not get a proper read on this guy.

"Devil Fruit."

"I assumed." He spits out a wad of blood, having bit his tongue on the way down. "Maybe you do get your own category." It's the first time that he holds the sword with two hands, and it creates a line straight down his center that has Ace circling. He doesn't seem to even notice the movement, not with his body, but his eyes follow closely.

"Told ya," is Ace's cheeky response.

It gets the first grin out of him. Almost wicked.

"I like you, cowboy. What's your name?"

He offers a bow. "Portgas D. Ace, at your service."

"Spice."

Ace almost gets his head cut off.

-0-

"So," Spice had taken to standing off to the side, arms crossed over his chest, "you're a pirate?"

"You bet!"

"Your crew?"

"I have two crewmember," he raises a third finger slowly, smile turning cheeky, "three if you're interested."

"No."

It's hard to tell whether that's a bad thing for him or not. There's not anything about his expression telling Ace that he's about to get his head cleaved off for real this time- and, yeesh, that had been a close one. Ace knew it would just go through but hell if Spice did and, besides, it's the principle of the matter! Getting a "I trust that you'd dodge," was not conducive.

He pretended not to take it as a compliment.

But there's also not anything telling him that Spice is particularly enthused by the information. Which, fair, but also. Aw. Ace is starting to think he physically can't show much beyond the neutral look. It seems to be… just the way his face is. Like a more intense version of Quinn, who was definitely quick to frown.

Spice, of course, didn't react to any of Ace's thoughts. "And you have a Devil Fruit." He deadpans.

"Yeah! The Flame Flame Fruit," he lets his hand burst into fire and Spice watches with interest as he lights up the pile of would they'd gathered. Even taking steps to lean over him and get a closer look. "I'm a fire man now! Man of fire? I don't know." He shakes his head. "You don't seem all that surprised?"

He doesn't quite believe it. But if it looks like fire, acts like fire, and smells like fire- it's probably fire.

"...I know a man with one. His power is much less useful compared to yours."

It's been a long time since their impromptu fight. They're both covered in dirt and grime and grass stains from more than a few tumbles and wrong turns. Ace's clothes are shredded and sliced and it's a bit of a surprise that it's even holding together. And Spice is nursing singed clothes and bruises across most of him.

Neither show any notice of it though. The battle hadn't ended with an exact winner. Or- rather -they'd had to argue on it.

Apparently, part way through, the forest had decided it was a good idea to finally come alive around them and tried its hand in joining in on their fight.

Unfortunate decision, really.

Well. Not for them.

They were eating good today.

"I'm still trying to get used to it." Ace shrugged, helping Spice poke the wood into a better place with a red hand. There's a burst of cinders and he forgets for a second that he doesn't have to jump back, even though he's using his hands to move everything around. "Gotta admit," he blinks and wipes his face free of soot, "it's a little weird." Not feeling the slightest bit of burning from any of it. It's all just heat that blends into each other, not even unbearable in the slightest.

"I can imagine."

"Chehehe. My crew's got some good ideas for it, I think. And Kat would probably be good to train with…"

What with the water. It'd help him figure out how it all works without worry of burning anything down. Or… burning Quinn again. His mind briefly wanders to the smell of burning flesh and he pointedly doesn't think about it.

If he ever got out of control, like he had with that boss-guy, then it'd be handy to calm back down. Hm.. Now that he was thinking about it, Kat was really going to be a crucial part of his crew, huh? He was already experienced with keeping Quinn from drowning, now he had two of them to keep from a watery grave.

...He needed to recruit some good swimmers, didn't he?

"-Is the falling asleep a side effect?"

"Huh?"

Oh. _Oh._

Ace winced.

"Ah, no. That's… my own thing."

He may or may not have suffered a narcoleptic attack at some point while kicking a giant ladybug into the dirt. That had, apparently, resulted in a rather pissed off Spice standing over him after having finished off the primary brute of the insects that were still coming out of the woodworks. Damn. Ace had been looking forward to that all, too.

Spice hums an off-key tune.

Ace half expects to be made fun of.

Instead, he gets, "Quite the power move there. The insects bored you so much that you had to take a _nap_." He snorts. "I see where I stand. Think I'll take that lying down?"

Ace's smile nearly splits his face. Ooh, that's a different one. "You know I'll be."

Spice makes a noise that Ace… thinks is supposed to be a laugh. It can barely be described as a hitch of a breath, and is almost completely noiseless. Ace almost thinks it might have been a cough. "Experienced in that, aren't you?" He goes to help himself to gathering from the large bug corpses. There's enough that Spice thinks he'll have to put together another bag for leftovers-

Oh, but he doesn't know that he's with Ace. Who's eyeing the lot with a ravenous lot and already thinking about finding a dessert.

He stops daydreaming long enough to ask, "What's with all these gigantic bugs anyway? There was even a mini-tiger earlier…" He lifts one of the many punched to death bodies up with the toe of his boot once the fire seems like it's starting to get going.

Ace couldn't tell anybody why there were so many asshole bugs trying to kill them, and with such ferocity too. He thinks Quinn and Kat would've freaked out the moment they saw them- or maybe Quinn's allergies would've acted up again. He snickered quietly. Imagining her sneezing and pulling the strings of her hood until all he could see were her eyes and hair peeking through. The funny image made even funnier with the thought of her jumping away from everything that moved her way.

Quinn probably wouldn't like where his thoughts headed.

"Wow," Spice gasped and slapped the side of his face, as if in shock, which was weird to see because, once again, he expression didn't change, "I wonder why."

"Oy."

Something told him that Quinn and him would get along.

"The island's called Nest." Spice unsheathes his sword to begin to slice the bodies into pieces, sorting through the parts to search for the edible parts. Bugs like these had hard and toughened shells that could break teeth with just a bite. "It's rather literal in its naming."

"It's… The whole island is a nest?"

"Oh, surprise. We have a winner."

Ace deflates.

Spice sees his look and sighs. "Fine," he'll clarify, "Some Celestial Dragon had a thing for collecting rare and dangerous bugs from across the world. Ended up dumping them all here once he got bored of them. Something like forty years ago. There used to be an entire people that live here."

He rips a shell from a body, frowning down at the contents it left.

"It eventually got to be too much for them to keep at bay and they eventually had to either move to the Isle's or would die. The bugs have only gotten stronger since then, they try and fight anything that breathes. The normal animals ended up getting killed unless they were able to hide. They've started to get smaller this generation, like the tiger you saw, in order to survive. There's a few other species starting to develop camouflage even."

Ace nods.

Then chirps, "...Dark!"

"You _asked._ "

He shrugs and can't help but mutter a low, "This whole place seems to have a bone to pick with those bastards…" Not noticing Spice glance over his shoulder at him with narrowed eyes. Ace carried on. "If it's so bad over here, why do you come? Someone said that there was only one man that could survive over here. I take it, that's you?" When he turns around he only gets to see Spice working his swords through the large body of a mantis with a practiced efficiency.

"Have you found any other mysterious, attractive and rugged men on this island?"

"Humble."

"I try."

"Seriously, though-"

Spice raises up a fresh cut of insect meat, cutting Ace off before he can finish. Saying simply, "For this."

"...Bugs?"

"Food."

Ace can certainly understand that. "You could just go to the store." Augh, it sounds blasphemous to say it out loud. He's so used to hunting and foraging for himself that it feels weird even suggesting it.

Spice gives him a dry look. "One of the Isle's is literally called Starving."

Aa.

"You enjoy making people feel stupid, don't you?"

"It has its perks."

Yes, Ace definitely thinks he and Quinn would get along. Just swell.

"Beyond that, it's excellent training."

Oh, Ace can see that. While bugs and insectoids are different from beasts and teeth there's still a lot of merit to be gained from dealing with the immense forms. And with the thick shells and surprisingly sharp blades ready to tear through everything and everybody, for someone mastering a blade, it was a fantastic method of training with a sword. "It seems a little like a paradise for you, huh?" He smirks at the blade. "For a swordsman, you'd probably gain a lot of experience."

That- is apparently the wrong thing to say.

Because Ace receives an almost-glare and a raised brow.

"For a "swordsman"…?"

Spice rolls his eyes and raises the blade to slice cleanly through the bodies surrounding them, flurry of steel and precision.

"I am not simply a swordsman," Ace can feel himself begin to salivate as he presents his sword, fully ducked out in meat and ingredients he pulled from seemingly nowhere, and the already prepped meat behind him, "I am a _chef._ "

...

...

It's… It's glorious.

Perfectly, flame-cooked eats. Fantastic aromas of spices and flavor just waiting to be tasted. The effortless ease in which Spice cooked and created in an endless cycle of fashion and-

It was like looking into heaven that was preparing to slap back.

And Ace was completely knocked off his feet.

"Is this… what they call love?"

"That's dramatic."

Spice pauses before adding, "But not wrong."

Ace takes a bite and practically melts, trying to appreciate the heat and everything good- eating bugs wasn't exactly his favorite pastime, it was more something to fall back on in case he couldn't make a catch of the day, when he was much younger and fresh to the forest hustle. But… Spices cooking… it just seemed to elevate everything so much further. If Ace ever got to eat a bite of food he actually liked- wow. He thinks he'd die from sheer happiness.

It's a wonder how someone can have so much skill.

He tries to savour the first bite, eyes closing as he chews.

Then promptly tears through the rest of it in a matter of seconds.

"..."

Spice stares, one eye twitching.

"More, please!"

"... _hah?_ "

He wiped his mouth with his arm, already drooling with the thought of more. But- that's not an excuse to forget politeness, Ace shakes himself back to his senses. "My apologies, that was rude, allow me to try that again." He bowed, deeper than what was required. "It would be an honor to taste more of your food. Would you be so kind as to prepare more?"

It's a little stiff from lack of practice but Makino would have his head if she heard he'd completely squandered all her teachings the moment he left.

Spice seems to be at a loss for words.

Eyes shifting between the insane amount of food he'd already made, gone from its place without a crumb left, and Ace and his… objectively skinny frame.

"...Sure."

And then, once again, Spice stares.

A minute. It's… all gone already.

"Will you look at that?"

Ace is busy polishing off his fingers and grinning so widely that Spice has to squint looking at him. Was that just his fruit or was the sun really shining bright behind him? He looked away.

"You're an amazing chef!"

"I know." He made a face at the completely empty grass behind him. It's all gone. "Where does it all go?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Spice stares at him, deadpan. "You're a blackhole."

"Chehehe! My crew's said that before." Mostly Quinn. But he thinks she eats too little to even qualify as a snack in his mind. "This is about the same amount I've always eaten." Give or take, he could probably stand for one more, but hey-! He'll take what he can get. He was getting bored of only eating fish. And after last night he was _starving._

"At least you'll always clean your plate…" Spice mutters. "By the way, your braids are coming loose."

 _That_ came out of nowhere.

Ace blinks. He hasn't a clue what he's talking about.

"My what?"

He gestures to his head. "Your hair."

He raises his hand up, still confused. "...Oh! That." He vaguely remembers fingers carding through his hair and Quinn talking somewhere next to him, saying something that he could recall if he wanted but Ace had a feeling that he wouldn't exactly like it. "Forgot she did that…"

It's all loose now and his bangs are beginning to fall back into place but he leaves it, it'll probably hold for a while longer yet and- oh! Ace feels his fingers find the bobby pins holding it all down. He hadn't had much luck with her trying to teach him how to lockpick. He'd gotten the idea of… how to do it, as a concept, but even with Quinn helping him and showing him how to do it over and over again he just seemed to fumble or end up breaking them whenever he thought he was close to getting it. It made all the more frustrating when Quinn couldn't help but end up laughing behind his back, trying to be a good teacher but… Ace would not write home about it.

But hey, Ace let his hand drop, he had his own pins to practice with now!

Spice reads his actions wrong and gestures to his own hair, "My youngest sister did this."

"...It's good?"

It is. At least Ace thinks so, in his admittedly incredibly limited knowledge.

Makino sometimes came around with her hair all done up- Dadan would always ask her how much it'd cost and complain about how expensive it was, and Ace had always been completely blown away by the number that she gave. And those didn't even come close to the intricate and carefully woven braids and skill that had gone into the hairstyle Spice was rockin'.

"I'll tell her you said that."

He's wiping his sword clean and gathering up his bag and things, Ace thinks he might be preparing to leave. Which- no, he couldn't have that. "Does she do it a lot? Your hair?" He asks, the first thing that pops into his head. He's not really all that interested in talking about hairstyles but… Spice seemed to take the question in stride.

"She wants to be a hairstylist," he explains, "she practices on anybody and everyone that'll sit still. What about the girl that did that- does she do that kind of thing often?"

"Nah, I was drunk and she pulled it back for me."

Spice closes his mouth and seems less than interested in continuing from there, nose wrinkling slightly. "So you can't hold your drink."

"Huh- no way! I totally can!"

He doesn't look like he believes him.

"I can!" Ace grumbles, "But that's… not important."

"You're a pirate and you're a lightweight? Isn't that an oxymoron?"

"Hey!"

Spice rolls his eyes.

He's still carefully wiping down his sword with a cloth, the blade doesn't exactly look dirty but he was pulling out bottles with labels and supplies that Ace vaguely remembers the bandits complaining about being hard to buy because it was only really sold in the lower throngs of Edge Town. Getting past the get in their typical garb was hard.

Distractedly, Ace watches with fascination, "That's- a good dream though. You have a little sister?"

It helps to drag him back into the conversation. And he hesitates before he says, "...Three." Spice flips the sword and begins on the other side. "What about you? I can't imagine someone that went out and became a pirate at your age-"

"Seventeen is completely reasonable and I did so on purpose-"

"-has much in the way of family."

"Not true. I have a little brother- Luffy!"

For some reason, that seems to honestly confuse him, because he's furrowing his brow and shifting his weight so he can frown at him. "And you just left him behind?"

Ace winced.

"Oy, don't put it like that! Being a pirate has been our dream since we were kids, he's going to sail out to sea in three years, too!" Ace can't help but smile a bit, even if it was slight with worry. He really can't wait to see how he's grown when that day comes but… he was also a little afraid that his kid brother would still be just that- his kid brother. Not knowing when to not fight, too naive and trusting, and whether his crew would be people Ace could trust him with. "I'll see him then." He echoed, a little quieter.

Spice shakes his head at him. "I can't imagine… leaving my sisters behind… you _don't_ leave family behind. Ever."

"We made a promise. To leave when we were both seventeen," Spice has to lean away. It looked like his eyes were on fire, not literally, but… Ace clearly didn't appreciate the insinuation that he was just abandoning Luffy. "Neither of us would ever break that."

He rubs the back of his neck, hair standing on end. "Didn't mean it that way." He quickly changes the subject, ignoring the burning gaze on him, "What about the rest of your crew?"

"What about them?"

"Normal people don't go out and become pirates. Not those with families." Spice gives him a look. "And somehow I doubt that you all dreamed of piracy. Frankly, that's an odd dream for a couple of kids, by the way."

Ace shrugs. To both comments.

"Quinn mentioned a grandmother. There was also a pair of girls claiming to be her sisters when she joined," Ace adds, "but she said they weren't. I think she was already traveling around by that point. She said she was from the Grand Line."

"The Pirates' Graveyard?"

"Yeah, so is Kat! He's from some place called Fishman Island. His family though…"

He'd said something about a mother, hadn't he? And something about weird shells that she researched that he was looking for. Quinn had filled him in on what had happened while he was running around and it hadn't sounded like Kat was living his… best life. Sequestered and forced to hide away from the people on Belle.

Ace didn't know how he didn't have a grudge against humanity.

If he was in his shoes, he knows he would.

"None that I know of."

"Of course," Spice sighed, rubbing his forehead, "Travelers and orphans. Fit for the _perfect_ pirate crew."

"They _are_ pretty great."

"That wasn't…" He sighs and sheathed his sword on his back, packing away the last of his supplies. "Anyways, cowboy, it's getting late."

It really wasn't.

The sun was only just starting its descent and the sky was still bright blue.

"You best get back to your crew, don't you think?"

"Huh? Hey, wait-!"

He was walking away.

"Where are you going? Ah, wait, Spice, don't just up and leave-!"

Ace quickly kicks out the fire and rushes to follow after. Since he's so tall Ace has to walk twice as fast to keep up and he's clearly used to walking through the forest. Seemingly knowing exactly where he's going, even though all there was were trees and large, open clearings as far as Ace could tell.

"Hey, why don't you join my crew?!"

That gets an eyebrow, "I already said no."

"Ah, c'mon, we need a chef! I've only got a navigator so far," he leaps after him, hopping in front in the hopes that it might slow him down a bit, "and you're a swordsman too! It's been awhile since I've had someone able to keep up with me in a fight, you'd be a perfect addition!"

A swordsman. A master chef. A guy that clearly values family.

It would be a complete waste to give up on him.

"Join my crew!"

And then there's a side eye, "We just got done talking about family and you're still asking. You seemed to take no for an answer just fine earlier."

"That was before I knew how great of a cook you were!"

Spice snorts and easily steps around him.

"Where are you going anyway?"

"Look. Cowboy-wonder."

Ace sputters.

That was certainly a… nickname.

"I'm not interested in piracy. I have more important things to worry about."

"-Like what?"

"People usually have their own set of responsibilities."

"Responsi…" Ace scoffs. "C'mon, don't you ever want to just go wild? I mean, being a pirate is all about being free and following your dreams!"

Spice makes that odd sound again, the one that Ace is pretty sure is supposed to be a laugh. "I'll believe it when I see it."

Ace perks up at that.

"I'll just have to show you then!"

Spice doesn't really know how to take that information and Ace doesn't move to leave, keeping in step with him, practically skipping. "...You're not going to leave me alone about this are you?"

"Nope!"

"Aren't you a Captain? Shouldn't you be keeping track of your crew?"

Ace waves off the attempt to get him to leave. "They can do whatever they want. Besides, they know where I am if there's trouble!"

He'd made sure to tell that Cona-chick where he was off to and asked her to let his crew know when they woke up. She'd jumped and said something about how she had to leave to search for the Salt-kid who apparently had wandered off and hadn't come back but Ace hadn't stayed long enough to figure out what she was talking about. Already off to find the way to Nest Island.

"At least tell me where we're headed."

Spice shakes his head.

"...Home."

"Starving Chang? Isn't that in the other direction?"

"Yes and no." Spice points to a place where the trees are beginning to open up, enough so that Ace can start to smell the ocean again. "I'm from the other one. Hunting Chang."

-0-

Quinn found that it…

Felt a little strange.

The sheer… normality behind it all. Even though her face and back ached, and luck was a short movement away, and the world was filled with pirates, none of it took away from the fact that she was still walking in her sneakers, bundled in her old and ratty jacket, wearing clothes simultaneously too warm and too cold for the weather, and she… She was shopping. Wandering through the streets and eyeing surprisingly lacking booths in the hopes of finding groceries that could last them any number of days out at sea.

Acting like this… was normal.

The juxtaposition of the yesterdays versus the now- it seemed so at odds in her head. She'd fallen into a new world, she set sail to sea despite never having seen the ocean before in her life, almost got her head removed by a pissed off sea monster, hell, someone had just tried to murder one of her friends- who was barely older than a _child._

It felt wrong. To take it so in stride. Quinn didn't like that she couldn't even say that all that was what bothered her the most- it had nothing on… on...

She shook her head.

"Why is-" The man at the booth looks up as she speaks. "-everything so… empty?"

Saigen had never had the problem of having too little. Maybe in terms of space. But it was a trading island, the booths there, even the more niche ones, were always overflowing to the point that they encroached on, not only others, but also on the walkway. It made it difficult to walk through, let alone run through, and Quinn had used the buildings and walls and whatever alternate routes she could find to get around it.

This though- It was just. There was almost nothing. And what there actually _was_ , well, it was pathetic by comparison.

He squints at her face, "What do you think the island is named for?"

She shuts her mouth and nods.

"...How much for the oranges?"

It's a bit of a treat.

She carefully bites into a slice, trying not to get the juice into the bites on her lips. It's an inevitable failure and she feels her eye twitch from the stinging.

They've gone longer than they should without citrus and she wasn't looking to pull a Yosaku and get scurvy. With the lack of options here though there also came the problem that everything was now much more expensive than it probably should be. She only had so much money left over from working and neither Ace or Kat seemed to have much, if anything. Then again, the whole Berry currency… She still had troubles getting used to it.

It's the small things that throw her off.

That really bother her.

The sea and living in a boat and unfamiliar places- it was what she anticipated. It's what, when she woke up in the morning, she prepared herself for. That she could _expect._ But… the small things. Those were another thing entirely.

Quinn felt her stomach curl in an unpleasant way. Whether that's because she only had coffee for breakfast and the sudden bite of food had her body crying out for more or because she just can't look at anyone in the eye- she'd convince herself that it was only the former.

The colorful hair… she could ignore that by convincing herself that it was just dyed, even though the mere concept seemed to offend those she brought it up to. The small, villager-like buildings felt out of time and place and period- but she could think that away with a wave and the thought that, hah, she was out farther into the country than she'd ever been before. The salty smell of the ocean was a bit harder to ignore but hey- that was just nature being nature. And the lack of noses stuck in phones or advertisements thrown up on screens and walls- Oh, everyones just trying to be better about their screen time and was more aware of the problems of being blasted by commercial products twenty four seven three-sixty five.

It was intense denial but, hey, it worked. She wasn't going to fix it if it wasn't broken.

Quinn pretended that her fingers weren't shaking as she brought another orange slice up to her mouth and chewed.

The people though… the people were harder to ignore.

All of it was just _wrong._

No matter where she looked.

General mannerisms that she couldn't exactly describe, other than the fact that it made her feel out of place whenever she noticed. The way people seemed to smile without any ulterior motive or like they were actually happy with their life- which, okay, that's not all that odd. But Quinn was starting to realize how weird it felt to even notice and that- now that she had an idea of what it looked like -how many people from the real world walked around with a well-constructed facade.

And she had _always_ been good at reading people, this though, it was uncomfortable- just how easy it was to see straight through every single one of them with just a glance.

It was part of the reason that she didn't make eye contact with any of them. And it's why, when asking for apples from another vendor, she has to swallow in disgust when his hand grazes hers for much longer than it should before she can quickly walk away. Teeth grinding together at the feeling of eyes on her back.

Stuff like that. That was what was making her feel sick.

Oh, not the eyes themselves, but the overwhelming knowledge that they were there.

Everything was just- _too much_. All at once.

She hadn't noticed it at first. Not when she was still confused, but once she started picking out the differences, it was all she could see. Being so suddenly engulfed in it all- It was like an assault on her brain.

Even the people were- too much one way, too much the other way, there was nothing quite in the middle and- Too prominent. It was like people were walking caricatures.

Eyes were a bit too wide, too round. Noses shaped in a way that looked all the more easy to bend or mold. Hell, even the shapes of people's heads are either something she would expect or so abnormal that she actually has to wrinkle her nose and look away. Limbs are just too long or too short, bones don't poke through skin the same way. A large majority of the men are either built like a brick shithouse or… just shapes. And the women- god, the women. They were all too skinny, too slight, with almost no hips and all chest, and she tried to convince herself that it's the result of a corset or other body-shaping means but that's… not right either.

Everyone was just on the cusp of alien.

Quinn shudders.

Okay, so maybe she's being dramatic. Maybe that it's not quite so bad as she's making it out to be. Because, if she hadn't been made aware of it when she figured out that it was One Piece, she doubted she would have noticed as soon as she did.

They're still human, still humanoid- but it was like they evolved to allow for Oda's art to make _sense_ and she hasn't had the time to get used to it all.

It was a small mercy that both Ace and Kat looked normal enough. The oddities were still there but they were small. Even with Kat's gils and odd textures of skin and color.

"It's just different…" She mumbled under her breath, trying to reassure herself.

And isn't that the problem?

The repeated reminder that this is not her home and that she doesn't belong. Quinn wonders how she must look to them all.

 _("-your face is just_ wrong _-!")_

Wonders if the width of her ribcage stands out, the thickness on her arms and legs and hips; if the fact that her stomach actually looked like it could hold organs was something that weirded them out; if the shape of her face, eyes, or nose had people staring at her behind her back. Was her mouth different? Her lips? Her ears? Did her hair and her skin just scream even more that she was different?

Maybe there was a reason why the people of Saigen didn't like her? Then again, they hadn't liked Roddie much either so it might've been because of her affiliation with him.

Quinn… didn't want to stand out. She didn't want to be _seen._

She stood over a stand with slices of meat and jerky sitting in ice and tied with rope, tapping her chin and pretending like her mind wasn't elsewhere. Both her arms are now laden with grocery bags and most of her money is gone but she thinks they'd appreciate having a different kind of meat other than fish for once- or, at least, Ace would. Kat hadn't explained it with the exact term but she thinks he was pescetarian.

The internal panic is stomped down and her anxiety is swept under the rug.

Realistically, she doubted she got more than a passing glance, maybe spared an odd look here or there at _most_ , so it shouldn't feel like the whole world is glaring at her back.

"Which of these holds for the longest-?"

The woman behind the booth makes a noise, somewhere caught between a gasp and a squeak, and stumbles back. "What? Are you okay?" Quinn blinks as a finger slowly raises to point somewhere behind and above her.

She turned.

Quinn felt her breath hitch.

She took a step back, mouth opening and words failing to form. "...?!"

They're- They're-

A smile spreads and teeth gleam and a sort of strange, unnatural terror pierces her heart.

_They were **looking** at her._


	13. Twin Isle: Hunting Chang I: Enemies Revealed! Kat's Desperate Run To Survive!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: More in-depth mentions of prostitution.
> 
> I also provided character designs at the bottom for Quinn and Kat. The first one is very old but it didn't change enough to not be accurate anymore.

_Puru Puru._

_Puru Puru._

_Puru Puru._

_Puru-_ click.

She reached out and quickly pressed the call button again, listening for the familiar sound to start up.

_Puru Puru._

_Puru Puru._

_Puru Puru._

_Puru-_ click.

Again.

_Puru-_

**Again!**

_Puru-!_

-Click.

"I… think that's enough for now." Cona takes a seat in the grass, hands sliding under her skirt, so she can fall onto her knees comfortably next to Salt. The girl doesn't even twitch at her sudden presence. If it wasn't for her shutting down the snail, Cona would've wondered if she even knew she was there. "It's already morning."

The snail hacks and coughs and curls in on itself, disappearing into its shell. Overworked.

A similar image to the girl beside her. Curled into a ball, knees pulled up, head buried, and arms wrapped so tightly around herself that they were beginning to turn pale from stress. "How long have you been out here?"

Since she saw her leave, Cona is assuming. From the dew and moisture ruining her hair and the dampness of her clothes, it would hardly be unsurprising. She's covered in goosebumps.

Cona sighs. And slowly begins to pick up the tools on the ground and place them back in her small toolbox. They're old and frayed and even slightly rusted on the handles, but despite that, they're well taken care of. A set of small and precise tools perfect for working with things like Den Den Mushi harnesses and other small contraptions. "If you leave these out in the rain, they'll get all rusty."

As she makes space in the box, she finds another contraption, small and portable and fitted for a Cameko- a visual Den Den Mushi. Cona can't help but smile. It was a present for her brother, wasn't it?

He liked to take pictures if she remembered correctly.

"Aren't these tools precious to you?"

Salt doesn't lift her head and it makes her already small mumble even harder to hear.

"...What does it matter? They're not worth shit anyways."

"That's not true." She says lightly. "A set like this would go for quite a bit of money in the market."

"Good. Go and sell them then."

"Oh, you don't mean tha-"

"Yes, I do!" Salt finally whips her head up.

Cona grimaces.

Her eyes are outlined in a thick red, there are tear trails and rashes beginning to form and it still doesn't look as if she's done. She's been crying. For a long time now.

"It's worthless-! It doesn't mean anything, not if- not if-!" She sucks in a shaky breath and her lip wobbles and-

Salt buries her head back into her arms.

Cona opens her mouth, in the hopes that she might be able to say something reassuring, but nothing pops into her head. So, instead, she says nothing and just watches Salts hands sneak into her hair and start tugging by the fistfuls. Shoulders and back shuddering with the force of her whimpers.

"...D-Don… Don't do that… You'll hurt yourself."

"I don't care! Did you-" She tugs. "-Did you come here to make fun of me? To laugh in my laugh and say 'I told you so'? That's it, r-right?! That's why you're here!"

"No," Cona places her hand on her back gently, "What would make you think that?"

Salt laughs mirthlessly and slaps her hand away. "Because you all were right! I should've just… stayed home and done nothing. It's not like I can do anything anyways-"

"T-That's not true-"

"Don't lie to me-! You agree with the bartender-" She accuses, "and with all the rest! I'm just a useless waste of space, even that pirate-lady agrees! H-How can I be anything if the things that I'm good at…"

She peeks out from between her arms, eyes glistening and vision blurred.

"...mean _nothing?_ "

Cona bows her head.

And Salt's breaths come out in deep, shuddery bursts.

There's quiet for a long time. Only broken by Salt's whimpers and failed attempts to hold back sobs.

Then:

"...Nobody cares, do they?"

Cona wants to lie. But she can't.

"...No."

She'd been trying to call all night. Hadn't stopped for a moment. Even after the first thirty attempts went nowhere and the hope that had been steadily building- since those pirates proved to be strong, proved to be as trustworthy as pirates could be -all came crashing down around her. Chipped away, bit by bit, as not one person picked up. Even though she was out of range of that damned Horned Den Den Mushi attempting to jam every radio wave it didn't like- and she had made sure of it.

It… Nobody had picked up just because- _Nobody was there._

Salt's voice broke, "Why? Is… Is everyone else just more important?"

" _-No._ No." Cona desperately tried to get her to stop. She couldn't _stand_ thinking like that, not from her- not from a child that had been so determined and passionate just the day before. She didn't want to see someone else break down. "They'll try and tell you that, make excuses, claim that you're less than dirt, that… because of who you are or what you do, you deserve it." She looks down at her hands, fingers squeezing closed. "It's a lie."

"But…"

"No person is _ever_ more important. It doesn't matter if they're a judge, soldier, mother, or even a god. We're all stuck living in this world together and we all make it run, just the same as any other. It's…" Cona takes a deep breath. "It's just that… There's a lot of terrible people out there. That think they're inherently better. They'll try and tell you your worth, don't listen. Oh, god, _please_ don't listen to them-"

She shook her head.

She'd had those thoughts, it feels like everyday of her life- that _every minute_ was just filled with them.

Being a sexworker, she didn't get respect. They didn't think she deserved it. That she was just a commodity, a tool, a piece of… not _quite_ garbage, but something they would have an easy time throwing away. And she'd believe them. Because she always felt dirty and tossed aside and like everything that was making her- _her_ , was slowly getting stolen away with each passing day.

It was the quiet, from the times when she could think to herself and didn't have to hide away, where there were moments of joy and happiness spent with people she cared about- people she wanted to fight for- that she figured out that she had never deserved the words or sneers or the abuse. That she could still have respect, still be looked up to, be somebody worth something- despite the life she'd been forced to pursue.

"So long as you know how much you're really worth, you'll be okay. Because you're already better than them-" She smiled, a bit sadly. "-you're _trying_ to help, after all."

Salt sniffed.

It doesn't fix anything, but at least it helps.

And Kat pushed off the tree he'd been leaning against.

Walking away from the scene he'd been an unwanted witness to. Not that either of them knew it.

It was private. He knew that. And he should've walked away, told himself that he would, but… for some reason his feet hadn't been able to move from their fixed spot until it was all but already over. He can hear the sobs of Salt grow quieter and quieter as she's finally able to compose herself and stand back up with Cona. They'll see him the moment they turn around.

So he pretends like he hadn't been an invader and raises his hand in greeting, a smile on his face, "Heyy! I came to get you guys! What're you doing all the way out here? The bartender was getting worried about you two!" Like he's just found them.

Salt hides her tear tracked face and furiously rubs her arm over it. He pretends not to notice.

"What's up? What were you doing?"

Cona laughs, tense. "O-Oh, nothing. Salt was, um… Just telling me about the Cameko additions she was making for her brother! It was rather fascinating actually."

Salt quickly jumps on the excuse. "U-Uh, y-yeah, yeah. He… likes documenting things… so I was making him… an upgrade..." It falls into a mumble near the end there and Kat almost doesn't catch it at all.

"Oh, that's pretty cool!"

He feels bad.

The inner turmoil isn't enough for him to say anything though.

They start walking back. With Salt purposely rushing ahead of them by quite a ways. Kat watches her go, still in sight, but far enough that she's definitely still trying to hide her shuddering breaths and hiccups.

After Quinn had figured out that Ace had taken off, presumably to explore Nest, Kat had watched her, in more exasperation than anything, accidentally hurt herself with the force of her own facepalm. Sighing so hard that she sunk into the seat until there was a bit of talk about what to do, to which Kat couldn't help but be amused by her blaise attitude towards, despite being visibly annoyed, and they'd decided that they'd sail over to Hunting since that was apparently closer and- Quinn had flipped a coin- on deciding between it and Nest.

Then they'd discovered that Cona and Salt had been gone for a number of hours, to the point it was concerning, and Kat had decided to go off in search of them while Quinn said something about stopping and getting groceries for the ship. It hadn't taken all that long to find them, actually. He'd just asked around with their descriptions and someone mentioned seeing Cona head in one direction and he'd been off.

He scuffed his foot in the wet grass.

Truth be told, he hadn't actually wanted to split off from Quinn. She'd been hurt and it felt like it fell on him to make sure that he was at least there, by her side, but he- He had a selfish reason for wanting to talk to Cona. And during a party while everyone was celebrating had felt like the worst time. So here he was.

"Did you…" he kicks a pebble with his toe, watching it shoot off ahead of them, "mean it?"

"Huh?"

No, that's wrong. He- Of course she did, at the time, what he wanted was- Kat swallowed. "If… If I had been different, like you- _human_ -would you have still tried to kill me?"

Cona flinches, whether it's because of the question or the topic, he can't tell. He just knows she isn't happy with it. _Good_ , he thinks, let her be uncomfortable. It's vindictive and unnecessary but he still feels like it anyway.

She looks at her own feet. "...Those powers of yours, are they- are they because you're-" she gestures to her face and arms, where his gills and shark-like skin is, "- _like_ that?"

No. But also yes. Anyone can learn it, it's just harder for humans, hard for half-fish man too. But he would've never learned it if it wasn't for his heritage and once-life on Fishman Island. He didn't think there was a non-fishman instructor that existed, certainly not anyone he knew, and of the fishman instructors he's been told about… None of them would give a human the time of day even if they were interested.

"Yes," he says, tentatively. Because, technically, it's true.

Cona runs a hand through her hair, "Do you… want the truth?"

"...Yes."

"Then. Yeah."

He sags, shoulders slumping. He, yeah, he expected as much. He kicks another rock, harder this time, it leaves a small divot in the tree it hits.

"B-But it's not because of your appearance, I promise you that. I didn't even know what you looked like- you were just a cute kid in a sick mask and-"

It's an excuse. She realizes belatedly and she's ashamed that she even tried to shift the blame away when he casts her a look that's caught somewhere between crippling disappointment and lowering self-worth.

She's just making up excuses. Trying to make herself feel better and she gives a small laugh and feels horrible instead.

"No, no. Sorry, I- You're right. If I hadn't seen what you were capable of, with those water powers of yours, I wouldn't have tried to kill you. I… I took one look at it and thought you were a threat."

"Don't worry about it, I'm… used to that sort of thing." He can't help but sigh, fingers twitching over the mess of scars that marr his gills. She was hardly the first to try and hurt him because she was scared that he might bite back at some point.

Cona opens her mouth, then closes it.

Until, "For what it's worth, if I had known how strong your Captain was or-or about whatever weird power Quinn has, I would've tried to kill them too." She pauses, "I mean, I doubt I would have succeeded but-"

Kat laughs. It cuts her off. "What?! Are you- Are you trying to say that, because of me, I ended up protecting my crew just by taking the brunt of your focus?!" Is that supposed to be comforting? He's not sure. "Can I really believe that-"

He fell silent.

Cona quirks a small smile at the ground. There's a touch of humor there but it's mostly a grim curve of shame and deprecation. "Heh. Well, _yeah._ " She mumbles a bit and says it like it should be obvious. "I was so… I was so focused on you and your powers and how you hid behind a sick mask that I completely ignored the possibility that, hell, even your Captain would be something to be worried about. That's not- That was just stupid of me."

"...So, because you're an asshole who jumps to conclusions, I ended up protecting my crew. That's what you're saying?"

"B-Basically, I guess?"

Huh.

Well, okay.

Kat's not- He's really not sure how to feel about that.

They fall into an awkward silence that has Cona tense and glancing at him from the corner of her eye every few seconds, in the hopes that she might be able to see _something_ , but his expression is unreadable.

"Do you-?"

She's stopped short by Salt.

"C-Cona…?!" It's a rather quiet call, all things considered. But there's a somewhat panicked note in her voice that has Cona immediately searching for the young girl. A feeling of something being _not right_ that makes her spine straighten and her heart beat faster.

"What? Are you alright?" Salt's still dead ahead of them, but she's stopped now. Frozen stiff and looking at something she can't see. And, when Cona runs to her side, it's to find her pale and visibly shaken, and not the result of the emotional escapades from before. "What is…" She follows her wide eyed gaze. "...it… _Gh?_!"

And freezes just the same.

Kat didn't even notice her run ahead at first. Too stuck in his own head to pay it any mind. It doesn't help that, when he glances up, he can't see what has them rattled either. There's too many trees blocking the way and his mind is half on the thought that he should just ditch them and go find Quinn already. That is until he takes another two steps forward and can finally see enough around the forest that-

_...Oh-kay?_

"Is that…" He squints. As if his eyes are playing tricks on him. "...a _mime_?"

He's never seen one in real life but he's read enough books with pictures to figure it out. The black and white stripes, the painted face, the odd short black suit that hugs the thin and lanky figure like a second skin of a man that's too tall to be considered a normal person. He's definitely weird. But Kat's not sure if that's just because mimes were supposed to be strange or not.

"...Y-Yes, it is…" Comes Cona's quiet, terrified confirmation. Barely a whisper, if that.

"Oh…" Well then. "That's cool! Is that supposed to be an invisible box?"

"W-Wait, no, don't-!"

Too late.

Cona slams her mouth shut as unblinking yellow eyes turn on a swivel, finally taking notice of them. Peering attentively down at the red headed teen that was almost skipping towards him, an almost childlike wonder about him. They try not to think about how his body contorts unnaturally, even as it makes them take a step back, because it twists him around fully so he can actually face them now.

Kat's unaware of their reluctance. That, or he just doesn't care. "So like- Are you really not able to talk at all?! Or was that just something I read?" Sometimes it was hard to tell what was true or what was just elaboration.

There's no words that get exchanged. Not even a sound.

Kat can't even really tell if he's breathing or not. Gosh, maybe he isn't, his chest isn't even moving.

"...I'll take that as a yes to the former there!"

There's a sudden shifting of movement. Both Cona and Salt stumble back in an attempt to back away and-

"Gah?!" Kat hops back his own few paces, nearly jumping right out of his skin. "D-Don't come at me like that! You scared me, geez!" His heart had tried to escape his own chest there. "Man, you really take the invisible box thing seriously, huh?" He'd been slightly worried he was actually going to get jumped there. The mime had sprung forward, slamming into its own invisible wall before he could get close, and slid to the ground as if there was actually something there to block them.

"K-Kat, we should l-leave-" Salt stutters.

He ignores her. "Hey, you're pretty good though! What else can you do?"

He watches in interest as the mime taps his chin before holding up a finger, like he's got an idea, and suddenly he's pushing against the air- hands firmly placed in front of him, feet sliding from the sheer effort and back breaking force he was trying to put into it. Trying to break down his own invisible wall. Unsuccessfully.

"Don't encourage him!"

He suddenly tries the ceiling. Oh, it's a good attempt but he's falling to his knees and having to wipe his brow before long. Then he's trying to shove a wall out with his back, no luck there either. Then with his arms. Until both them and his legs are being used to the point it almost looks like he's actually floating, as if there really are walls there. The only thing that throws off the illusion is the toe of his shoe still touching the ground.

"Woah! No way, man!" Kat can't help but cheer, erupting into applause the more he sees. Yellow eyes crinkle in what he thinks is delight. "That's amazing! I've never seen anything like it before in my life."

"K-Kat…"

Annoyed, he finally turns, "What?"

And blinks. Uhm.

Cona and Salt are grasping him by the shirt, practically materializing at his sides, gently tugging at him with their eyes still firmly locked onto the mime still stuck in the invisible box. Nervousness palpable. It was coming off them in waves. "We should go." They insisted with twin hisses.

"Huh- why?! It's just a mime!" He rolls his eyes and tries to slide out of their grips, it doesn't work. Their holds are way too tight. "This is really cool! I wanna see what else-"

"Kat," it was Cona, whispering, "we _have_ to leave. R-Right now."

He's dragged away a few paces before he can slam his feet down and hold his ground. "Hey, no way! This is awesome." He pulls back. "I bet Quinn would like this too."

Salt whimpers and it has him pausing. "P-Please, this is… This is getting more and more dangerous the longer we stay. We can't- We can't be here. Not if he gets out."

Oh, he thought she was being serious there for a second.

He has to snort and roll his eyes.

"Oh, c'mon. It's just a mime! It's not like the box he's in is real. How gullible do you think I am-?"

"That doesn't matter!" Cona snaps, then flinches back when the mime places a hand against his wall, leaning his forehead against it. He looks to be sad and mopey now. Their attitude bringing him down. "T-That doesn't matter because…"

The mime gestures for Kat to come closer.

Salt's grip on him tightens. _"Don't."_

He gestures at him again. More urgently.

Salt's fingers tighten to the point of pain. "Don't."

Kat doesn't move.

And the mime seems to sag in despair. He doesn't gesture again, it seems like he's given up on trying to get him to come closer.

"-because-"

It slams it's head forward.

They all jump as it bounces off.

Just as quickly it leans back, and slams again.

"-because, so long as he _thinks_ he's trapped in a box, he can't get out."

They wince. It feels wrong to think it but the fact that there's no sound of him hitting something or blood running down his face as a result of his nonexistent wall is probably the oddest thing. Because it feels like, even though he actually doesn't look to be hitting anything, it still seems like his body is reacting to it. And the fact that he's not receiving any damage, despite looking like he should be, is what feels really just _wrong_ about the whole picture.

"But-" Kat feels an unsettling feeling begin to grow in the pit of his stomach. "-he's just a mime? What does that even matter?"

He hits his head. One last time. Collapsing to the bottom of his box in a heap of too long limbs.

They both fail to hide their terrified squeaks.

"A Mime like that-"

"-should never be allowed to roam free!"

And they were both tugging much harder now. Trying to get him to move but Kat still wasn't convinced by either of them. "I don't know…"

"Please! We need to go! So long as he doesn't get a key or figure a way out we'll be fine to-"

Salt suddenly yelps and stumbles back.

Because, as she says that, the mime suddenly starts convulsing on the ground. Chest heaving and legs kicking and arms scrambling to grab ahold of his flat walls, all end in failure, and his body is forced to twist and contort in unnatural and sickening ways. They watch his spine poke from beneath his shirt, digits popping out noiselessly, and bones bend in impossible directions that have them disgusted before long.

There's a twist. And his large body seems to fold at the middle.

Much like folding a large stack of paper in half.

It's gross and elastic in a way that's just… wrong. As if his flesh is a rubber to be bent but his insides are not. A nasty display that was only made worse by the usage of the invisible box, trapping him and stuffing him and forcing him into odd corners and angles.

There's froth beginning to bubble past his lips. Saliva that drips down his chin and into the grass in long strands of slobber that ends with him bent over the ground, gagging; dry heaving. Nothing but spit and spittle come up. And it's the quiet that permeates the whole scene that makes it the most frightening. Joints that should be popping, clothes that should be shifting, breaths that should be coming out, everything that _should_ be just isn't. It's completely silent.

"Is he…?"

All too late, they realize that it's like he's vomiting something up.

And they don't get it, not immediately, but his long fingers sort through the wet grass until he picks up something that isn't there. Something that only he can interact with. _A key,_ their minds supply, a tad further too late.

Because, already, the mime is unlocking a small door at the bottom of the box. Too small. Much too small for even a normal child to fit through. But there's a distortion of limbs in the mix of black and white and he's folding his body smaller and smaller until he's through an opening that they can't see. It's a slow and meticulous process that they only see is done once he knocks the door closed with the heel of his shoe and swallows back down the invisible key.

He stands to his full height. Towering over them all easily. And yellow eyes crinkle in what Kat had assumed was delight.

It's not-

It feels like a threat.

Salt's voice is filled with panic and she's practically screaming, _"WE NEED TO GO-!"_

It's too late.

Kat feels a hand plant itself into his stomach.

_Pain. **Pain.** Everything is-_

He gasps to life, blood dripping down his face, and attempts to sit up despite his ribs screaming at him. Distantly, he hears the sound of Cona and Salt running and yelling and there's… Ow. Ow, _ow, o- **ow.**_

When he stands he nearly collapses.

The trees he was sent through certainly do. Only delayed by their own surprise. And he tries to take in his surroundings and get his head back on his shoulders. There's about fifteen feet between here and where he last was, the mime is standing over him, and he can't see Cona and Salt but he can certainly hear them and- oh, wait. The mime is standing over him.

_The mime is standing over him._

Kat can't get his claws up in time.

-0-

That was an odd encounter.

Quinn frowned, shifting the grocery bags over in her arms. Going from a fit of extreme paranoia over her own appearance to seeing a guy like _that_ \- well, it had her feeling a tiny bit better about her whole situation. Because, from the reactions, she could tell that he was way further down the abnormality scale than she was ever going to be.

The man- the Mime -had towered over her. Standing over her, she couldn't even tell how tall he was, but it was enough that she felt like an ant beneath his boot. It was even enough to have her shrouded by his shadow. It didn't help that he was bent so far at his middle, in order to peer down at her face, that he curved over to the point that a quick tilt of his head could have him looking at both her face and the back of her head with ease.

The creepy yellow eyes hadn't helped to curb her mounting fear. Especially when he wouldn't stop **looking** at her. It was like he was trying to figure out something. And, whatever it was, she found that she definitely didn't want him to find it.

So she'd offered to buy him something from the meat booth.

_"Oh, sir, am I in your way?"_

Fake smile plastered across her face.

_"My apologies, would you like me to buy a treat for you? I can't believe how rude I was to block you!"_

Thankfully, that seemed to throw him off whatever it was he was searching for because he'd promptly stood up and walked away. Not even taking her up on her offer.

(Which she was glad for, her wallet really couldn't take that kind of abuse.)

On his way away, he'd stooped down to glare at some red haired man that squeaked and ran away as soon as he took notice of the unwanted attention. Weird, Quinn noted, he'd given the guy the same cursory look over as well, apparently not finding anything he was looking for with him either. Though definitely arriving at that conclusion much quicker than he had with her.

Strange.

"I can't believe this…"

Quinn started to set the bags down, pulling up one of their empty barrels and filling it with her purchases. Wrapping the plastic into a ball and shoving it deep into the corner, in the case that they might need to use it later.

"What kind of person just takes a boat like that? Right off the docks too."

There's some pair of fishermen standing not too far away from where they'd docked. They're both shaking their heads and talking loud enough that she can hear them without even meaning to. They're not exactly trying to be quiet either. Too angry and incredulous to keep their voices down.

"Must've been in a hurry. Just jumped in and started heading out, even laughed at us when we tried to get him to come back."

She jumps out of the boat and starts stretching, loathe to be stuck in the confined space for any number of minutes more than she had to. She can't wait until they get their own- _real -_ ship, one that has space to stretch and walk around and do their own thing without having to worry about kicking one another in the face. With actual rooms and amenities and-

She glanced over.

Huh. She wondered what jerk went and pissed off the locals.

"Fah, bet it was one of those kids that like to steal the fish."

"No. Some muscular guy. Was wearing a bright orange cowboy hat and-"

Wait a second. That's _her_ jerk!

Quinn made a face and started stretching in the other direction.

Ah.

Where was Kat? She didn't want to hang out here anymore!

-0-

It's not as if he's particularly fast. Or, he wouldn't be, but his legs are long and they have a much farther reach than Kat's ever could. It's what makes it hard to get away. That and the fact that the branches whip out to hit him in the face as he shoves them out of the way and rushes past.

He's being played with.

There's not a sound as he slides to a stop.

The Mime smiles down on him.

He feels his chest heave as he tries to catch his breath, arms shaking as he raises his claws up. There's blood dripping down and into his eyes and dark spots in his vision, he has to blink a couple times to get them out of the way. It doesn't provide much in the way of help. Kat tries to keep his defensive stance held firm.

And Salt gasps from where she hangs.

Trying to stay awake, too shocked to scream.

One arm distended at an awkward angle in the Mimes gloved grip. There's not much he can tell about how she got caught, he just knows that his back is aching from all the trees it's been used to break and that Cona has already been knocked unconscious. Tossed aside like a limp doll on a pile of tree roots and forgotten. Her treatment, compared to his and Salt's has him worried that it was them that he was after.

Salt struggles to lift her head up. " _H-He_ lp m-me…!"

There's moisture in the grass.

It's not much but it's enough to trip him up when he pulls it out from under him.

Unfortunately, it tosses Salt away also and a terrible scream rips through her throat until it's raw. He winces. It'd twisted her arm a bit further but at least she's on the ground and he can grab her by the shirt and yank her onto her feet, not sparing a moment to even think about the Mime or Cona or- _"Move already!"_

They're running, sprinting.

Even though they can't hear anything, not even branches being shoved out of the way behind them, just their own gasps for air, Kat knows that there's a shadow that follows. And all too late for him to react, a black and white striped leg sticks out in front of them. " _Aahg-?_!" Before they're sent rolling to the ground, tripping over it.

Kat barely has time to throw up a claw to meet the incoming foot and his arm shakes as it connects. He's strong. The Mime is definitely stronger.

No one would normally think so, not with him built like a beanstalk and looking like his limbs were noodles, but the strength in every blow is abnormal. Kat shudders. Shifting his weight until the sound of his claws creaking and shaking reaches his ears and- he throws his arm back at a painful angle. Thankfully, it's enough to redirect the kick in a direction away from their bodies and he's just barely able to collect Salt and start running again.

"Damn it, he's got too much reach!"

Salt whimpers, cradling her arm to her chest. Even a quick glance tells him it looks wrong. Shoulder sticking out at an angle that it shouldn't.

"What even is his _problem_?!"

He wouldn't say that it'd been going so good _before_ but, hell, it was definitely better than this!

There isn't much time before the Mime is appearing again, long legs and feet sending up dirt as he slides to a stop in front of them, Kat grits his teeth. They're not going to be able to get away, are they? Not just by running.

"He's trying to k-kill us-!"

"Yeah, I figured that much out!"

Kat doesn't stop running forward, swiping at his chest, the highest he can reach. An attack on the tip of his tongue, " **Sleigh** -?!"

He yelps and gets tossed back, just barely managing to keep his feet.

"Damn it!"

There's a number of curses he wants to say but doesn't. There really isn't any time for it. Not when he's having to cartwheel out of the way of what would have surely been a devastating hit. Apparently, trying to fight him wasn't going to get him anywhere either. Maybe if they had the homeground of the ocean, but unfortunately, even pulling from the dew stuck in the trees and the blood on his face wouldn't provide more than slashes that he thinks the Mime would only find as blemishes.

"A-Are you okay?!" Salt gasps. "W-We need to- get out of here!"

Kat growls. It didn't help that he had to carry her. "If you've got any ideas, now would be the time to let me know!"

She doesn't.

But she's coherent enough to worry about Cona, even as he takes off running once again, practically sobbing from her arm getting jostled by each step, it's not enough to keep her mouth shut. "W-What about Cona?!" He pulls out a stream of water and throws it behind him. He doesn't think it does anything but it feels like he's trying at least, so he keeps at it.

"Don't care-" Not a good thing to say, apparently, it gets her kicking out in anger. He nearly drops her as his ribs ache from her thrashing. "Look, gah-! He's more focused on us right now! If we go back for her, we'll only put her in more danger!"

It's enough to convince her and she spits out a pained, "F-Fine."

For a long moment, there is nothing. And he keeps running even as he frantically flicks his gaze this way and that, in the hopes of locating the bastard Mime, and, when there's no such luck, it just has him even more frantic. Until the trees have got them all turned around and Kat slides to a reluctant stop. Whipping around in circles before rushing in the direction that he thinks the town is with little hesitation. Shoving branches out of the way, still tossing water even though it'd stopped making him feel better.

He just-

"Where did he _go_?!"

He's not naive enough to think that he's actually lost him.

That thought gets confirmed when a foot collides with his side and the only thing that keeps him up and moving is his own momentum. " _Gak-_!" That's, oh, he's for sure cracked a rib. The high pitch and garbled breathing coming out of him told him _that_ much.

Salt yelps, "Just go away!"

He doesn't. Of course not.

Her face starts to turn red. Whether that's because of the tears and pain or simply getting progressively pissed off by the fact that _he just wouldn't let up,_ it's hard to tell. But she's glaring the Mime down with all that she can muster through gritted teeth, teary eyes, and a half-sputtered, "H-How about you go back to whatever invisible box you crawled out of already?!"

Kat feels a knee slam into the ground.

Oh, wow, this is super not good.

That's a... _new_ pain.

"Shi-!"

He can't defend like this.

The Mime doesn't care. Lunges at them, flat palms ready to slam them into the ground, and even lifting one hand up has his torso screaming at him to stop. Despite the pain, he still raises it, in the hopes that he might at least be able to minimize the damage and-

The Mime slams into nothing.

"..."

"...uhm…"

Kat feels a bead of sweat slide down the side of his face. Salt and him share a look, before tilting their heads in unison. "... _Eh_?"

...It's not that simple.

There's _no way_!

That. That just can't be right, can it?!

There's a moment taken to breath out their disbelief. And the Mime raps his knuckles against the nothingness and tries to slam into the wall of its own creation. They're all silent for once. Then, he starts up that noiseless gagging again and they're back on the run. "You can't be serious! That worked?!"

Salt gasps between jostled breaths, "I-It's just like Cona said, I think! I-If he thinks there's something there, he'll treat it like it's real! Even if it's someone else putting it in the way!"

He couldn't help it.

Kat started cackling, loud and in sheer disbelief. It breaks down into a weak coughing fit almost as soon as he begins, his sides scream in protest. "This is _so_ weird!" At least they had an idea about how to deal with him now-

Ah, that's an arm coming for his face, isn't it?

…

…

She loosens the rope holding the boat in place. The waves rocking it gently so that it knocks against the dock and she struggles to keep it still with one leg, trying to tie her hair up as she does it. It's probably a little too unstable for her to be doing this without hands, especially considering the shallows could easily be a watery grave for her, but she does it anyway. Keh- besides, how funny would that be?

"Hey!"

"Nhn?"

It's the fisherman that she'd eavesdropped on.

"You look familiar, I coulda sworn I saw your face before."

"A-Ah, no. You must be mistaken. I haven't-"

"No, no. I didn't recognize you at first, with all the bruises, but you were with him earlier weren't you?"

She plays dumb. "I'm sorry? Afraid I don't know who you're talking about."

"The one with the bright orange cowboy-"

"QUINN!"

Oh thank god. Kat.

She hides her sigh of relief and whips around to the call of her name, "Oh, Kat, what took you so long, I was starting to get worr- _Are you okay?!"_

The relief was short lived at the sight of him. Completely taken aback by the blood on his face, the busted up looks, and the limp that he now carried in his running state. The Salt over his shoulder was ignored in favor of him shouting above the people wandering about their mornings.

She's already trying to figure out what could've gone wrong. Mind moving a mile a minute.

"What happened-?!"

"WE'RE BEING CHASED BY A MIME!"

.. _.Okay?_

"...Hey, I'd love to stay and chat about orange cowboys. But this island seems a bit crazy so I'm just gonna…" she tosses both her thumbs over her shoulder in the direction of the sea, "... _go_."

"HE'S STUPID THOUGH! WE HAD TO KEEP THROWING UP INVISIBLE WALLS, IT'S THE ONLY THING THAT KEPT US SAFE!"

There's Kat, proving her point.

" _Yeah_ …" She nods to herself, that seems like a good idea. "Bye!"

"Hey, wait-!"

She'll go ahead and start pushing the boat out already. Best to get away from all the crazies, lest she get infected by whatever's already gotten Kat in its clutches. Ah, so young, and to become a lost cause so soon.

"Good idea!"

"- _Keh_!"

He crashes onto the deck in a frenzy. Throwing Salt onto the ground, causing her to scream and curl up on her injured arm that- Oh, ow, ow, ow! That hurt just looking! That's _definitely_ been dislocated. Kat breathes heavily, clutching his own ribs. "If we can get out to sea we'll be able to lose him!"

"Yeah, that… was my plan all along…"

Unconvincingly, she glances to the side. As if that might hide the lie.

Kat completely doesn't notice. "You're so smart, Quinn!"

She shakes her head and turns concerned instead. "...You're okay, right?" He looks worse for wear, attempting to wave off her worry with hiccupped gasps. "You still haven't answered me. Besides, what did you mean when… you said… Mime?" It.. Couldn't be that guy from earlier, could it? She'd only just saw him and Kat had definitely been running for awhile.

Quinn bites her lip and turns to take a quick look back at where they'd come running out from-

White. Hand.

Fingers spread, long on an open palm.

Quinn's breath catches as it grows closer and she's completely frozen stiff. Dimly, from her peripheral, she notices that Kat's mouth is slightly parted in shock and his eyes are wide. Even Salt seems to stall. And the hand continues to grow closer.

Creeping.

Creeping.

_Creeping._

They're feet away from the edge of the dock now, but still. It keeps stretching. Like some nightmarish abomination with no end in sight.

_Creeping._

**_Creeping._ **

It's large enough that it may swallow her whole head.

**Creeping.**

Fingers bend like claws, joints popping without a sound in a way that's not right for even the people of this world, and she thinks that her heart might have stopped. There's no beat or thrum. She can't hear anything. She doesn't even find it in her to blink when five fingertips start to press against her face, almost completely obscuring her vision beneath it's shadow, leaving only one eye able to see and she wishes it couldn't.

Because that yellow eye is unblinking.

They're over ten feet away from the dock and yet the hand still remains.

It- just- _keeps-_ getting- **closer-**

It suddenly stops.

And the fingers pull away from her face, like a puzzle piece being pulled out of place, as the boat slides just barely a centimeter further. The blood rushes back into her ears and she can feel her heart's rapid pace in her chest, shocked by a burst of adrenaline, yet she still can't remove her eyes from their place.

The hand twitches.

Then, slowly, meticulously, it begins to pull away. Each finger bending separately from one another, as if each small appendage was completely disconnected and had a mind of its own. She can't help but notice that he's hanging over the water, nothing but the toe of his foot keeping him connected to the docks, and that- with his height and the length of his limbs -they'd just barely been able to drift out of his unnatural reach.

Quinn remains standing, somehow, back ramrod straight.

The wind tousles her hair.

He- It-

The Mime.

Stands in a similar rendition of her pose. Only it looks down on her with empty eyes.

.. _.They're mocking her._

"Quinn! Salt won't stop screaming!"

It snaps her out of her stupor and she forcibly has to tear her gaze away from the Mime. Because she doesn't want to lose sight of him. Not even for a second. It feels like- the moment she loses line of sight- he'll be right behind her.

She still does, though. It doesn't keep him out of her head. It only makes the feeling worse.

"...It's been dislocated."

"Oh, wow! Genius! I couldn't figure that out myself-!" Salt snaps out, more tears springing to the corners of her eyes.

"Do you want me to help or not?"

When she glances back over her shoulder, she has to ignore the sickening feeling that settles over her at finding him gone.

-0-

The bartender sits in silence.

There's no one around in the backroom. Just a barely lit room with shaded windows and her reading by candle light even though she wouldn't have to if she hadn't spent the last night drinking, even though she'd known that the sunlight would exacerbate her head the next day- today. But she'd have to live with the past decisions of barely sober her. The finances for this month wouldn't wait for her head to feel better, after all.

She sighed lightly.

That party was a bad idea. She'd known it the moment they started cracking out bottles of rum and other liquors that were already too expensive for them to be buying. But she couldn't have put a stop to it if she tried.

The budget was taking quite the toll. Enough so that she was worried about their plans for the next couple weeks and how they'll even have enough to pay for the-

The door slams open. It hurts her head and she flinches back, trying not to think about the migraine.

"Hey…!"

She trails off.

It's Cona. Bruised and beat up and breathing heavily. It's gotten to be a familiar sight over the last couple days, as much as she didn't like it, but now it was beyond worrying. "What the hell- What happened?! Was that- Was that the damn fish-freak-?!" Her hand twitches towards a weapon, rage piercing her heart as the face flits across her brain. She'll kill him herself-!

But Cona doesn't let the murderous thought continue as she gasps, "Someone… sold the pirates out!"

Something cold and steely slides through her and the bartender feels her face drain of color, heart sinking.

Oh… _Oh no._

"I… I don't understand! It- It had to have been one of us, unless we missed a line?" Cona falls to her knees, trying to hold herself up using the doorknob. "No. I'm s-sure of it. We double checked and everything-"

She feels sick. She feels gross. She feels her heart squeeze.

She raises her hand to stop her rambling, feeling her words tremble and taste like blood in her mouth. "It was me."

Cona doesn't say anything for a long time. Too long.

_"...What?"_

It's barely a whisper and on the border of a hiss.

She tries to keep the sudden tension in the room light. "Come on, you need help, I can take a look at-"

Cona rips herself away. Falling back, off her knees and nearly onto her back. The bartender feels her already pale face grow paler. "No-! W-W-Why-" She struggled to form a single word, much less a sentence, but she somehow does both. "Why the hell would you sell them out?! T-They… They helped us!"

"I know, I know they did but-"

"But what?! They did more for us than anybody else-"

The bartender feels a spot of fury begin to build.

"I know!"

"Look at me, I'm just collateral damage! What do you think they're going to do to that boy and-!"

It explodes. She was thinking of _them-?!_ "Yeah, they took care of our immediate problem! Do you really think the factory would take it lying down?! What about us? What if they found out we were involved-? What if they found out about the people-?!"

Cona hisses.

"I protected us, they would've killed us all!"

"You did no such thing! You opened us up to be discovered-"

"No, I didn't-"

Cona slaps her bruises and the large palm print that's beginning to form on her skin. "They sent the Mime! Of course you did," she growls, "he'll figure us out if he gets too close! As stupid as he is, he's all they need to completely destroy us. What do you think they're going to do to those pirates?! To that kid and-"

"They're just a group of no-name criminals, nobody would care if they died!" It's the wrong thing to say. The bartender realizes with a twist of her heart. Cona blinks at her with half parted lips and horrified eyes. "No, w-wait, I didn't- I didn't mean it like that-"

"Tha… That's the same sort of attitude that would have us killed." She whispers. "...Or have you forgotten?"

"Of course I didn't. B-But I have to protect our girls first, we all have a dream, remember?" Her hands tentatively reach for her as she tries to save herself with words. It doesn't seem to be working and her voice grows more desperate. "If we get through the now, maybe it'll still have a chance to happen. The girls and us, we can have our tea shop and stores, and we can finally get married-"

Cona looks away. Voice quiet, "If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here right now."

Her fingers twitch and she closes her eyes, sucking in a deep breath.

"I-"

She opens them. Unapologetic.

"I did what I had to do. I'm sorry for that."

"...No, you're not."

They feel a shadow fall over them. And look up.

They're hearts stop.

"... _No_!"

It's- The Mime.

"What are you doing here?!"

-0-

Hunting Chang.

It's different from Starving. Despite looking aesthetically similar. The buildings are much more compact, small and squished together, to the point that it only really allowed for one road- the main one. Compared to the many alleys and crevices that seemed to make up most of Starving, it was a startling difference.

"Pardon me!"

He says, even though it's someone else that shoves into him. It takes half a second of quick thinking to remind himself to keep the flames down.

"Hey, why does the back of my neck feel hot- WHY AM I ON FIRE?!"

 _Ah_ …!

-Annnd he was too late.

Ace feels himself break into a sweat and walks a little faster, whistling like he didn't even hear the yells behind him. "Huh, this place sure doesn't seem like it's got a lot going on, yeah?"

Spice gives a bemused glance over his shoulder but doesn't say anything.

The screams get louder and there's, thankfully, the sound of a bucket of water being dumped over Ace's witless victim and suddenly the streets calm down.

"There's a lot more people here than at Starving!"

By a fair margin, actually; there also seemed to be good variety in ages, too. It's what makes it hard to keep up with Spice. Because the streets are absolutely filled to the point that he's brushing elbows with multiple people all at once and most of his attention is being taken up keeping his flames under control.

"A lot of them moved from over there. Especially the men and children."

Ace takes an elbow to the gut, it would've hurt normally. "Pardon-"

"AH, WHAT IS THIS-?!"

Whoops. Not again. He hides his wince by pulling down the brim of his hat. "I thought people didn't want to be here?"

"It wasn't a welcome move."

"They were forced?" Ace manages to dodge another couple people. Geez, were they _trying_ to get in his way? "This many people?"

"Hunting has the job market. It also has the most food. As bland as the crap they sell here is…" He mutters that last part. "You can force people to do a lot if you're in charge of their paychecks." He thinks he might have explained more than that but Ace is forced to fall back a couple steps as a sudden crowd rushes between them. Oh, well. It didn't sound like something he'd get anyways.

Not through lack of intelligence, but Ace didn't actually have experience with the normal civilian-life, so he didn't really have a good idea about what Spice was trying to say. At least not with how it worked.

"Chehaha! I don't really understand but it doesn't sound great!" Spice eyes the sky with a long suffering look. "I get why all the men and stuff are here. But what's with all the kids?" There hadn't been any on Starving other than Salt from what he'd seen.

"Kids are small and have tiny hands, they can get into small places. Makes them good workers."

Ace looks around. The smoke he'd seen before rises up from the tallest building he can see, a large factory like structure with heavy chimneys. It's grey and pristine and it looks like every bit of money went into it. Ace didn't have to look for much longer to realize that he hated it. Everything else was just… rundown in comparison.

It's what- It brought to attention the fact that the people sorta reminded him of those from Grey Terminal. Some with meat on their bones and strength in their step, the top of the food chain, while others were less fortunate or unable to keep up, and were left barren. Not starving here per se, but definitely underfed. And dreary.

And even though there's so many people up and about, the place seemed to lack life and be bland. Which, for a place that supposedly produced the best spices in the world, felt like a weird dichotomy.

It just… seemed sad.

Someone walks through him. The yells light up anew.

He sighs this time.

Maybe he should start preemptively saying "pardon me" to everyone he sees? That… might actually work. Idea for the future.

"...Are you that bad at your devil fruit?"

"Oy, I'm still trying to figure it out!"

Ace grumbles. Besides, Spice couldn't talk, he didn't seem to be having the same problem he was. In fact, it's like the people were _parting_ for him to walk through. "Hey, what gives?" He tries to walk at his heels in the hopes that it gets them parting around him as well. Thankfully, it seems to work. "Why is everyone making way for you?"

"...Are they?" He hadn't even noticed. "Huh. They must be seeing my gorgeous face and giving me a wide berth. I think I just have one of those faces."

Yeah, somehow Ace doesn't think that that's it.

"Beautiful people like me always have to worry about how intimidating we're coming across."

Ace is doubtful.

Sure, he's a pretty good-looking guy, all things considered, but one glance around has Ace realizing that the people are pointedly looking away from him. It's like they're pretending he doesn't even exist, head downs and everything. "Do they hate you or something?"

Spice blinks. "No? Are… you deaf? Did you not just hear me say that I'm-"

Ace snorts. "No, no, I heard that bit."

"Good. I wouldn't want you to miss out on my lovely voice either-"

"...Right." Ace is- Ace doesn't know if he's messing with him or actually being serious. The deadpan delivery makes it almost impossible to tell. It doesn't help that- is he _skipping?_ He shakes his head. "They're not looking at you though."

"Well, they must be at some point, if they're going out of they're way to walk around me."

"Point."

"Does it bother you, cowboy?"

"Nah, it's just weird." It doesn't really matter. Che. If anything, it was a good thing. Now that he was walking behind him he didn't have to worry about lighting anymore people on fire by accident. The people here seemed… extremely flammable.

Ace made sure to keep at Spice's heels, lest he set fire to the whole place, and watched as the main road started to get less and less populated and even more drab by comparison. They'd walked quite a distance following the main road, almost to the other side of the island, until the factory had gotten to be mostly a lifting smog in the distance. He could still see the ugly- pristine; royal -roof and fixtures but it was a less obvious eyesore.

A fancy building surrounded by ruin. Ace was used to it, didn't mean he had to like it.

"Are you coming or are you just going to stand there with your mouth hanging open?"

"Huh?"

He'd slowed down just enough for Spice to pull ahead and stop by a small house. It was quaint even compared to the rest of the smooshed together buildings. A bit older-looking too, with peeling yellow paint and cracked wood with half-thrown together reparations nailed onto the wall. There was a small girl digging in the dirt outside it. Curly light brown hair and even darker skin covered head to toe in freckles that puts his to shame.

"Hnf, hnff! Where's it… where's it…?" She's got her tongue sticking out and is muttering to herself, lisp heavy to the point that her 'S's dragged and muddled up the other syllables. "C'mon, I gotta find it before-"

The girl notices them, hazel eyes blinking. Huh, she looked a lot like that Salt-kid and- " _Ah_! You're home!"

Spice glances down at himself, "I noticed." He says dryly.

"Um, um." She glances around, looking sweaty all of a sudden. "I'm not- I'm not looking for anything-! N-Nothing at all. There's nuthing here!" She quickly starts to pat the ground back into place and-

"Che!" Ace snickers.

She looks like Luffy when he's failing to lie.

"I see." Spice nods slowly, then gestures towards the home. "So when I walk inside and open the drawer, I'll find the ladle exactly where it's supposed to be."

"I…"

She's looking at her feet, swinging back and forth.

"Maybe not… _exactly_ where it's supposed to be."

Spice raises a single eyebrow. "And where would that be?"

Oh, the guilty concious has taken over completely now. "Momma likes it, okay?! It's not my fault that she likes to bury it-!" He continues to stare down at her, unblinking. Her face continued to get redder and redder as it screwed up. "And I just wanted to play and- and-" She's fallen into a mumble now, cheeks puffed out and flushed. "I made a mistake. I forgot that she likes messin' with me."

Ah, she finally cracked.

Spice sighs, low and slow. "That's alright. Just remember to dig it back up."

"Ugh!" Ace snorts as she shrieks, clasping her heart. "Sis, says that it's even worse when you're not angry! She was right! It feels even worse!"

"If it makes you feel better, I made a mistake too."

"Ehh, no way! You never get anything wrong!"

Spice sniffs, dramatic. And Ace jumps as his hand falls to clasp him around the shoulders, "My perfection was sullied, by this incessant cowboy."

The girl- his sister, he could reasonably guess -looked at him in all her six-year-old glory and didn't seem convinced. It was an easy blow to the old ego to see that she also looked increasingly less impressed the more she took in. Ace frowned. "What did I do-?"

"Yeah, what'd'he do?"

"I made the mistake," he pointed to his hair, "of thinking that his braids were done by a hairstylist."

Ace greets her stare with his own blank look. Uh. Wondering what the hell Quinn was going to get him into without even being there. He could hear her laughing at him now.

She takes one look at him.

Points.

And then laughs.

 _"Y-Y-Y-Y_ ou thought whoever d-did _that_ was a hairstylist?!"

Ace pulls the brim of his hat down, "...I take it she's the one that likes doing hair?"

Spice pats him on the back. "Wow. Way to go, got it in one. I don't know how you do it."

…

…

Cinnamon had been busy preparing dinner while her youngest sister dug around for the ladle that Momma had gotten obsessed with sometime years ago, always attempting to run off and bury it somewhere they couldn't find. She thinks the old lady liked to watch Pepper run around and fret over the lost item- the only ladle they had and, while it would be easy to replace, Pepper didn't know that. And she- well, _all_ of them -thought it was too hilarious to stop.

"Oh, Momma, you're too old to be having that much fun."

The old lady huffs at her, grumbling, before burying her head back in her large pillow to continue her nap. She never did like it whenever they brought up her age.

The coot.

Cinnamon shook her head, even if it made all her thin and beaded braids smack her in the arms, walking around to collect her dishes and bring them back to the sink. Listening to the shriek of Pepper realizing that Spice had caught her in the act of searching for the ladle. Ah, she brought it on herself. Indulging Momma's obsession and taking the ladle to go and tempt her with concepts of play and running and games. Only to lose it and miss where Momma buried it.

It was her own fault.

Cinnamon tilts her head to listen in from the open window.

"Your hair sucks though! It's completely falling out an' everything!" Oh, apparently she's also found someone to make fun of. Cinnamon feels herself unable to help but also start giggling at the absolutely raucous laughter that Pepper belts out. "What made you t-think that was by a hairstylist?!"

There's Spice, scratching his head.

Cinnamon has known her older brother since the day she was born, so while most people would find his expression impassive and blank, she can't help but notice the light dancing in his eyes. Playful and mischievous. To strangers, he must seem a little peeved, "I don't know hair, Pep. I thought it was-"

She's cackling and pointing now. "Y-You're so stupid-!"

"...Ooh, I like her."

That's someone she hasn't heard before. Cinnamon opens the window and leans out to try and get a better look, hands on the sil carefully balancing her as her legs lift off the ground the more she leans forward. "Hey, who're you-?" She blinks. Yellow shirt, freckled face, and a colorful… "Is that a cowboy?"

"Chehaha. Sorry, but no. I'm a pi-"

He grunts as Spice's hand pats him on the back. "Yes. Yes, he is." And watches the cowboy's face turn unimpressed towards her brother. "He's been following me around for the last couple hours." Apparently, they'd gotten into a fight as well. She eyes the cuts and messy state of them both.

Ha. He must be good if Spice let him hang around!

"Ooh~?" She mused, mouth quirking into a pretty smile. "What's got you so interested, huh?"

Cinnamon watches the freckled face pause long enough to grin widely at her, teeth showing brightly. "I want him to join my crew!"

It gets Pepper to stop laughing.

"What? _NO_!"

.

.

.

The Character Designs for Quinn and Kat. (Will provide more as chapters progress of all characters). Find these on my tumblr @[terrutt](https://terrutt.tumblr.com/)


	14. Twin Isle: Hunting Chang II: Spice's Family! The Factory Makes The Wrong Move!

She's screaming.

Quinn can't exactly blame her, fingers twitching away from her arm. Trying to not let her voice waver with tension as she says, "Are you sure you want me to do this? I mean, I know first aid, technically, but it's not as if I'm certified or anything… And this is very, very, very different compared to that."

She'd taken a first aid and CPR class for extra credit, though it hadn't gone anywhere, not even a potential addition to her resume, not as old as it was. Even then, the class was getting vague and she'd never gone and taken a renewal course. And they didn't exactly cover things like dislocations- it was unimportant compared to bleeding, shock, and respiratory problems. You know, more immediate and deadly emergencies.

(Quinn didn't say that it was also taken because she was worried for her abuela's health. The woman was getting older in years when she'd decided to take it and a younger teenaged-her naively thought she could prevent the inevitable.)

A messed up arm didn't qualify.

In fact, if she was remembering correctly, they'd specifically said to _not_ try and fix a dislocation because it could end up doing more harm than good, especially if they didn't leave it up to a professional. Keh, which she certainly was not, and she very much didn't want to do this. It didn't help that they were in a boat. Shaky and unsteady, at least it hid the shaking of her own hands.

But Salt was insisting despite Quinn very calmly trying to explain to her why it was a bad idea.

Okay, that was a lie. She wasn't explaining it calmly per se.

...She was just arguing with her.

Quinn felt her eyes flash and spark with annoyance, "If I make it worse, you're not allowed to sue me."

That certainly gets Salt giving her a weak laugh. For some reason, the annoyance sparks up again. "G-Geez, the bartender was right. You really are an ex-noble!"

Ah, so that's why.

There goes all her apprehension for this situation, gone- right out the window.

"Alright then. On one, two, and-"

"You're an ex-noble?"

She doesn't go through with it.

"No!" She grimaces at the suggestion, already whipping around to deny. And can't help but feel bad when Kat, who was already jumpy, seemed to turn even more skittish. She sighs, rubbing her temples. "Damn it, don't bring it up. That bartender was just jumping to conclusions." Quinn didn't even want to think about it.

"Heh, worried about being sued at a time like this," Salt chortles like she finds it funny, "what else would you be?" Salt's aware that she's a little out of her mind right now. Can't even tell if she's whimpering or giggling and it's why she doesn't feel the slightest bit intimidated by Quinn's normally effective glare.

"That is… unless you _want_ me to break it?"

She does manage to stop after that fact though.

And Quinn takes a deep breath to actually start eyeing the… uh, _wrong_ arm. It was intimidating. If it wasn't for Salts insistence that someone take up the mantle to help, she wouldn't even be thinking about touching it. Instead, now she had to figure out how the hell she was going to reasonably go about this. And Kat was no help. Finding himself oddly squeamish-

"Ew, ew, ew. It would be better if it was an open wound but that's just g-gro-oss looking!"

"Ahaha, thanks! Really helpful!"

"A-Ah, I mean- That is to say-"

"Don't worry about it, Kat," Quinn muttered, "you did your part already."

-he just couldn't work himself to even look in her direction for longer than a few seconds, now that he was starting to lose all the pent up adrenaline that'd been keeping him going, he could only stick out his scarred tongue in disgust before looking away. Then rinse and repeat. Enough times that it was starting to turn more comedic than concerning.

"You better be sure about this. I'm not exactly qualified." Quinn warns. Again.

It's Salt's turn to be annoyed, gritting her teeth. "Already- guh. Already better than what we'd have to beg for. I'm not-" She yelps at her prodding touch, tears already streaming down her face. "I'm not askin' my sister to beg for me."

Quinn grimaces.

Attempting to ignore the fretting and, growing increasingly, panicked Kat hovering over her shoulder. The boy was very out of his depth right now and his stress was starting to seep out and make her feel stressed. And none of them needed the _calm one_ to lose grip right now- "The hell? What does that mean?!"

Augh, he just shouted in her ear!

"The factory has a-"

Quinn stares at her arm for a long, hard moment. Gently placing her hands on the place that she thought was right and would, at the very least, bring her the most images. Drawing up images and media of people fixing dislocations and hoping that they were at least semi-accurate.

"-vice-grip on all this kind of stuff. Doctors, medicine, other things, sure, but mostly food. If- If you want anything outside of what they'd… gurgh, _deigned_ to give you," she says that last part sarcastically. It falters when her eyes flick to Quinn's hands with a tad of nervousness. She's, as gently as one can, trying to roll it into a better place, attempting to realign the socket with just how it feels beneath her fingers. The raspy breath in response tells her that it's already incredibly painful, but then again she was assuming that it would be. "A-And they'll make you b-beg for it. Why do y-you think people leave? I'm not going to… not gonna make my sister beg on my behalf. I'm not putting her through tha- YEEARGHH?!"

Kat bites his tongue in his shock, "Oh shi-!"

Quinn lifts her unsteady hands off her arm carefully. It's popped back into place, she thinks. Salt had paused to look away for just a second and that's when she'd known to jump on the opportunity. It'd made an uncomfortable sound that was, thankfully, not so loud that she was worried that she'd _completely_ messed it up. But she's too anxious to really let her worries stop. "Does that feel right?"

Unfortunately, Salt doesn't answer.

It takes her another minute to realize that it's because she's passed out.

"Oh, that's probably not a good reaction…"

Kat pales.

"W-W-Why would you do it so suddenly like that?" He sputters with a heavy heart, utterly confused.

And she's more confused about why _that's_ his takeaway.

"Isn't that what you're supposed to do?" Quinn is already scavenging around for something to make a sling out of, or at least wrap around the arm to keep it from falling back out. "Do it when they're not expecting it? Takes away all the fear and anticipation, right?"

"B-B-Bu-"

Kat raises a finger but can't even disagree with that logic. He opens and closes his mouth.

He deflates.

"...Did you do it right?"

She considers the question realistically. And begrudgingly has to admit, "Probably not," but, then again, she'd made many warnings about her lack of skill. And experience. So Salt would really only have herself to blame if it didn't turn out okay. "But… it looks good enough for now." She squints. She didn't want to even touch her anymore, it'd only make it worse if she tried to overwork it or fix mistakes where she didn't know the problem was. "Can you help me make a sling?"

Kat is, of course, all about that.

It's a wonder watching him immediately jump to attention and start digging through all their things. Kat was a little too eager to please. And she wasn't sure if that was worrisome or something to be grateful for.

He eventually pulls out a small and old-looking vest and asks, "Will this work-?"

Quinn frowns. "Isn't that one of your…?" She doesn't finish the question before narrowing her eyes, hands on her hips, scowling. "Why would you want to give that up?" More like, be _willing_ to. "You're the kind of person who's so nice that other people like to step all over you, aren't you?"

"I don't know what you mean?"

And that was answer enough.

He scratches the side of his face, careful of his gils. And is pointedly trying to not make eye contact with her, blush creeping over his cheeks. She can guess why- it's not something that they'd discussed, or even brought up. Not even once. And Quinn was sure the only reason she'd made the connection was because she'd recognized the bits of it peeking out from under his muscle shirt. Of course she would. She was already entirely aware of what it could be, other than just being another layer that he'd added on.

(She wasn't sure if Ace noticed. Or was even aware of it as a concept… Probably not. And she didn't think he would care beyond thinking it a little interesting.)

Which is why it alarmed her somewhat to see him offering it, especially since she knew that Kat did _not_ have the same opportunity as everyone else to have nice things on his island.

"Well, I mean, the canvas in it might help, you know, to keep it supported? And we can cut and tie it like a sling, so it-"

"That's too important for you to just ruin." Quinn immediately cuts into the little bit of logic.

He perks up. "Im-Important?" And he smiles in a sort of shy and hidden way that tells her that he had been slightly expecting her to either snap at him or be utterly ignorant to what it was. The realization that she wasn't going to fall into either category had him feeling a little warm and fuzzy on the inside- but that may be because of internal bleeding, he doesn't know. He still insists, though, "I- I have extra? I mean, the one I'm wearing right now."

No. No, no. That definitely won't do. She wasn't letting him even think about sacrificing something like that, especially when he had so few. "I'd rather use one of my own _sleeves._ We'll find something else, so you can put it away and…?"

Oh.

She can't help but trail off.

Quinn hums, staring at him from the corner of her eye. It has him nervous all of a sudden.

"Hey, when you jumped in the boat… you were holding your ribs, weren't you?"

_"Geh!"_

Ah, he got caught.

Kat whines. It worsens at the almost _maternal_ glare that he gets from her and the exasperated, _"Kat…"_

"Yeah, I know. _Mom_." He adds on snidely. Not thinking.

It takes him a second.

When Kat registers what he'd said, he quickly covers his mouth. "A-Ah, w-wait-" He didn't mean to say that out loud. "N-No, that was- I didn't mean to- Oh, oh no-!" Yes, sure, Ace had essentially told him to start treating her more like a friend, more like how he did, but Kat wasn't a fool! That wasn't how pirate crews worked- there was honor and seniority and- She was his superior and he shouldn't be talking back to her, he- he was horrified! "I-I'm sorry- I didn't-?!"

S-She's laughing. Why is she laughing?

"Kehehe~!" Admittedly, it's just a quiet chortle. And she's not even looking at him to notice that he was even panicking over the little sarcastic slip-up. "So long as you're being safe, call me whatever you want."

She… doesn't care.

Not at all.

He suddenly feels very stupid for assuming otherwise because… Ace was right. It was Quinn. She wasn't the type of person to care about that sort of thing- she didn't seem to care about anything! Well, unless it was trying to kill her. Or them. Mostly if it's trying to kill them.

...Honestly, it's probably because it's always _them_ trying to kill them.

Kat wipes his forearm furiously across his face. Ah, he was definitely feeling all warm and fuzzy inside because of how happy he was. "O-Okay," he… um, well, he tries to hide the stars in his eyes. "B-But I don't like taking it off in public 'cause people will notice and I don't-?"

"Here. This is big enough on you that it'll hide everything."

That's why she bought it. So she could disappear into it.

Kat watches as she hands him her jacket. Completely without a moment of thought or hesitation. And he tries not to feel like his heart is bursting in his chest just because of it- It's a simple gesture. It probably doesn't mean anything to her.

But for someone who'd spent so long without a kind gesture sent his way…

It- he feels his lips quirk into a deeper smile -reminds him of the comfort the piece of fabric had brought to him while they were searching for their way to find Ace on Sixis. Like a hug that wasn't going to go away. No matter how hesitating it'd felt that first time. "T-Thanks."

"No problem." She turns around so he can change, covering Salt's face in case she wakes up, unaware of him biting his tongue and feeling _fee~lings._ "There's gotta be something here that'll work…"

He winces as he removes his shirt and the piece underneath. Even as he gingerly peels it off he can feel his ribs ache and the realization that his breathing was even more labored than he'd first thought has him mentally thanking Quinn in his head that she'd been knowledgeable enough to remind him to remove it. The adrenaline and bruising had made him forget himself for a moment and now his bones could sigh in relief.

Kat prods the soreness. At least they're not broken.

He's quickly tossing his shirt back on and zipping up Quinn's jacket, just as Quinn raises up a white shirt and says- "Ah-ha!"

Thankfully, she doesn't have to use her sleeves. For that, Quinn sighs in relief. It'd felt like her heart was bound to stop at the uncomfortable thought of taking them off in public. They, instead, pull the white old t-shirt out from the bottom of her bag, discovering a supportive band that runs along the stomach that would be more helpful compared to any loose fabric that they'd have to tighten. Odd. She didn't even recognize it.

Quinn flipped it over-

Oh, it was one of Roddie's, no wonder.

She rolls her eyes at the crossed out Marine symbol on the back. She must've grabbed it by accident when Ace and her had been running from Garp. Well, it's going to get cut now.

Kat watches with fascination over her shoulder as she pulls out her scissors from her sewing kit and carefully ties the sling in place on Salt's arm. The girl doesn't even twitch in her state. Quinn frowns and double knots it just in case. It would be short if she was any taller but, given her already kinda small-for-her-age size, it was good enough to work. She'd take the small win.

He, in looking at Salt, he can't help but feel bad. It wasn't his fault. He knew that much. She wasn't his responsibility and the Mime had gone out of his way to hurt her. But he felt like- he felt like he could've done more. That he could've figured out what to do and, maybe not… _defeated_ the Mime, but at least kept other people from getting hurt.

If… If it had been Quinn there, or even Ace, though him getting hurt like that was admittedly much harder to imagine, especially after seeing the gunshot go… straight through him, he- Uh, he didn't know what he would've done.

He just doesn't like the thought of either of them getting hurt.

Not when he could've prevented it.

"What's wrong?"

He feels his teeth drag over his tongue and looks away. "N-Nothing…"

It's an obvious lie. Quinn notices immediately and raises a brow. "You sure about that?"

"I- You probably don't want to hear it." He laughs a little nervously. "It's stupid."

She frowns. "You know, somehow I don't think it is." He's got a weird and uncomfortable look on his face, and something tells her that it's got something to do with the attack. It- She's probably biting off more than she can chew once again, she wasn't good at this sort of thing- the whole 'offering a shoulder to cry on department'. But, then again, she couldn't just _not_ help him out. "Or do you just not want to talk about it? 'Cause that would be excellent also-"

Was she trying to get out of it? Yes.

"N-No. That's not it. I trust you."

Does she now feel bad? Also yes.

Quinn smiles in another direction, just so he doesn't see it. The guilt outweighing the- huh?

She blinks a bit in her surprise.

He… _trusts her?_

That's… nice to know.

"But, well," he refuses to make eye contact, too busy rubbing the back of his neck, "Ace said that it's better to keep your emotions to yourself."

Quinn's expression flatlines.

"...Please, never listen to Ace's advice ever again."

Kat laughs.

"Why? Don't _you_ do it?"

Oh, ouch. Kat, don't call her out like that.

She can't even try to deny it. "Well, I mean, yes. But that doesn't mean it's… good…" She tries to tell him, feeling very uncomfortable saying it because she really isn't one to talk, shoulders coming up to hug her neck as she hunches over and puts all her things away. "And Ace shouldn't be doing it either."

He's not convinced. Which, admittedly, she finds fair.

Quinn is of the firm belief and knowledge that instructions like that are… very, very dumb.

And unhealthy. But that was more a fact than opinion.

(Oh, she's aware that she's being hypocritical, she's self-aware enough to know that easily enough. She just doesn't care. Because she's always been a person that is very much one to swallow everything down and keep it all bottled up and, should anything start to seep out, that's when she got another bottle and more duct tape to keep the first one sealed for sure.)

(Yes, it's bad. She knows.)

(She also knows that bottles can burst.)

Kat doesn't seem to believe her. And he doesn't say it out loud, so she can't exactly know what to say to convince him. As far as he's concerned, he hasn't seen anything telling him otherwise. Well, maybe the stressful feeling starting to build up and the tension in his shoulders but- eh. That's probably because of something else and not the fact that he was still currently _losing his mind_ over the Mime- and Salt's arm- and, wow, he suddenly remembered that he'd left Cona behind and, oh god, what if she dies, it would've been his fault and-

Kat grins, tries to hide the tension in his cheeks, and chirps, "It's manly!"

"Uh-huh, sure is."

Okay, the sarcasm is strong in this one.

"Hey! It is…" he trails off, and Quinn knows a conflicted and suddenly questioning look when she sees one. "Isn't it?"

"I'm not a man, so I wouldn't know. You can figure that out yourself." Kat frowns, well, that's unhelpful. She notices the look and laughs under her breath. Oh, she's going to be a little manipulative here, isn't she? She is. Quinn taps her lips, as if in thought, and offers him a smile, "I don't know, but I've always thought that it was much more manly to always be true to your feelings. Everything else just seems unmanly in comparison." And- _Blegh_. It sounds like she's spouting some motivational garbage from some promotional advertisement aimed at kids in the hopes of making a quick buck.

So, like- something from Disney.

Unfortunately, she also knows that she's right- even if she would never be able to follow her own advice.

Quinn shrugs. "But that's just me. You can do whatever you want."

She turns around to find Kat giving her words more thought than she figured he would. The boy crossing his arms over his chest and lips pursed in what she thinks is him being thoughtful, until he perks up and says: "Should I tell Ace that you don't think he's manly?"

"Oh god, no."

Yikes. That would be a mess just waiting to happen.

He'd start going out of his way to _prove her wrong._

And Quinn didn't want to imagine the hijinks he'd get up to.

Kat tries to hide it but he's laughing at her reaction. "Hm, I guess then…" He eventually stops at her unimpressed look and rubs the back of his neck in a spot of embarrassment. "...I can let you know if there's anything bothering me?" He tentatively tries. "I m-mean, it that's not too much, if it is I c-can just-"

"Hah? Isn't that what I was offering?"

"Well, I wasn't sure if you were serious-"

"I wouldn't say it if I wasn't serious." She pauses. "No, actually, that's a lie. I would probably say it if I didn't mean it. But I'm being serious this time, if that helps." Quinn tucks her things away and pulls her bag over her shoulder, pointing ahead before he can say anything more, in the direction the ship had been steadily drifting since they left. "Now might not be a good time though- we're almost there."

He looks up.

…

…

Hunting Chang.

They pulled the boat onto the grey and muddy sands, trying to ignore the fact that they were slipping and sinking everywhere they stepped. The only thing keeping them from going down was their hold on the ship itself, but even that was starting to lose effect. "Damn, you're the lucky one right now, Salt…" Quinn muttered at the still unconscious girl, they'd had to leave her at the bottom of the boat for the moment. "...Any idea where we're going?"

It gets a shake of the head.

Nope, nada, not a clue from either of them. She figured as much but it still didn't stop her from groaning and rubbing her face. "Yeah, okay then. Great." They're getting looks from people that can see them from the main town and she glares until they look away. "Let's grab her and see if we can figure out where to drop her off and find Ace."

If he was even here.

"She said she had a sister, didn't she? We can find her."

"Hopefully…"

Quinn wasn't too optimistic that they'd be able to locate them.

There were a lot of people here from the looks of it. As bright as Ace was, finding one person in all of the crowd seemed like it was going to be more of a chore; especially if they're looking for someone they don't know the name of and don't know the look of- in regards to Salt's sister. Finding directions to a doctors office seemed much easier. Then again, given what Salt had said about the, um… begging, she wasn't so sure about _any_ of it anymore. Damn it.

"Geez, we need like… a tracker for Ace or something. I don't want to spend days looking for him again…"

And she'd _told_ him not to make them look again. Ugh.

She'd do it, sure. But she wasn't gonna be happy about it.

"I've got Salt!" Kat chirped and carefully hefted her onto one arm, shaking his head when Quinn went to offer her help. "Don't worry, I can take care of her by myself. I carried her all the way here anyway-" He stops short and looks around her.

She follows his gaze.

Quinn makes a face.

They were being approached.

Glaring doesn't seem to be turning them back so, instead, she welcomes them with a raised brow. Pretending like her fingers aren't inching into her bag, finding the hilt of her new (and freshly stolen back from Cona) knife. It's a motion that has her twitching in surprise over herself, actually. It feels more unexpected than it should. After the fiasco that was the Mime about to… about to kill her-

And she knew that that was what it had been. About to happen, she means. There was something like her stomach dropping and the death that creeped slow in a startling manner. It was more terrifying than she'd thought it'd be, in that moment.

Distantly, she wonders why. Because the thought of death had never really scared her before. Not so… viscerally.

Quinn bites her lip and stops before it breaks open the scab and starts to bleed.

-It made her more paranoid. More tense. It definitely wasn't fair to the man coming down to greet them but Quinn couldn't bring herself to care or feel bad.

Even as he timidly gets closer to them, even if he's likely just another person of the town and not a threat. An older gentleman with short, grey hair that may be natural actually and not the result of age, a thin figure tucked into a blue dress shirt and a suspendered suit that was just _slightly_ too big for him, all pulled together by a bright yellow bow tie. A large pair of frames sit across the bridge of his nose, which he was nervously pushing back up, "Um… Ex- Excuse me…?"

All in all.

He looked like a nerd.

Or a teenager going to his first ever job interview, not realizing that he was completely overdressed for the occasion.

"Oh, hey! I like your bowtie-!"

She drops the knife. And wants to giggle at Kat but manages to keep it together, eyes flashing at his presence with a cold look- albeit utterly amused, breaking whatever tension was over her. "Can we help you…?"

"Tiberius." He fills in quickly. Nervously. His loafers are sinking into the muck. "And yes! Actually, um." His eyes flicker between them and he swallows, gaze eventually zeroing in on Salt's hanging head. "May I ask, w-why are you with Miss Salt? Is she… Is she…" He flinches at the sight of her arm. It's looking more normal than it was before but it was definitely starting to turn a gross yellow and purple color, much like Quinn's face. "...okay?"

Quinn raises a brow. "... _Miss_ Salt?"

"We're gonna take her to her sister!"

"Oh!" Tiberius is… well, neither of them can tell exactly. There's a spot of relief that crosses over his face and something else that they can't put their finger on. He fixes his glasses, it disappears. "O-Oh, then- then whom might you be? I'm sorry but… I know everyone in this town and I'm rather certain that I've never seen either of you here before. Are- re you newcomers from Starving? We can get you set up in the factory as soon as possible, we always need new workers-"

They both scowl.

He notices, turns sweaty. "O-O-Or are you someone else-?"

"We're pirates, we're not supposed to work for others…"

Kat's muttering under his breath gives them away and Quinn watches him turn pale faced and squeak. "Look, Tibby-"

"U-Um, i-it's Tiberius."

"Whatever. You seem to know… Miss Salt and her sister," he confirms the unspoken question with a shaky and reluctant nod, "and seeing that she's currently indisposed and, as you've pointed out, we've never been here, we don't know where she could live. So, how about you lead us big and scary pirates where we need to go and we won't do the things typically associated with piracy."

Oh, it's an empty threat and an empty promise. She probably doesn't even need to do it anyways but watching his soul try to leave his body is the tiny bit that almost has her scary-facade breaking into laughter.

"Y-Yeah, okay," his voice cracks, "I can do that!"

Kat taps her on the shoulder. "Was that really necessary?"

"...No. Fun? Yes!" He shoots her a raised look and all she can do is shrug. "Kehehe~!"

They let the skittish Tiberius lead them into town, catching him mouthing 'help me' at a few people who took one look at them and ignored the group. Ah, yes, the power of carrying an unconscious child over one's arm, the intimidating duo they cut was only missing the addition of their local fire-hazard.

Speaking of Ace…

Tiberius brought them up to a small house. The door was strangely wide open and Kat had them walking inside before she could check that it was even the right place, watching Tiberius run off as soon as they turned their backs and… ugh. She wasn't going to chase him or anything, rolling her eyes as he went jogging around a corner and out of sight.

She jumps as Kat hisses at her under his breath, looking too delighted and too amused for his own good. "Pst, psst… Quinn, get over here…!"

" _Ah_."

She let her eyes drift up. Unable to keep her lips from spreading into a smile, though she tried- she really did. But- Ace, he-

She snorts.

And it's what has their Captain looking up, and _ooh~_ He's embarrassed!

"Kehe _heh_ ," she was almost purring, the teasing lilt of her voice making his cheeks flush an even deeper shade of pink, "That's a cute look on you, Princess."

It's not everyday that you discover your Captain, sitting criss-cross applesauce, covered in glitter and a pink robe with a fake tiara on his head, sitting across from a just adorable little girl pouring fake-tea, and-

He sputters.

Oh, this makes up for everything!

Unfortunately, it's a short lived movement.

Because the little girl looks up to see their out-of-it companion and her voice cracks with a sudden wetness, _"...Salt?"_

-0-

Ace found that a little girl trying to stomp on his toes was surprisingly hilarious.

Said little girl found it rather infuriating.

Especially since he wasn't even letting her _think_ she could hit him, moving his feet out of the way each time.

"Hey, get back here and take it!" Pepper stomped harder with each new attempt, face screwing up. "No! No way, nuh-uh! You're not allowed! He's not joinin' anyone's crew!" Ace laughing at her expense definitely wasn't helping. But there's just so much pent up offense in her tiny six year old body that he half expects her ears to start whistling and that image, coupled with the growing redness in her face, was something he couldn't help but to laugh at.

"Chehaha, why not?"

"He's _mine!_ "

Ace just laughs harder.

"So…" Spice steps back to lean against the wall by the window, arms crossed over his chest, "Who is he?"

Cinnamon has to cover her mouth to hide her smile as Pepper turns to her, as if to ask for help, before realizing that she was much too amused to even consider it. Cheeks puffing and tongue sticking out before turning back to the young cowboy with even more fury in her steps. He'd let her get just close enough that she thinks she might be getting somewhere before being completely sidestepped and swept under foot, the cowboy hoping a few paces further and leading her around in a wide circle.

It has her laying her elbows on the sil, head in her hands.

"Portgas D. Ace. A Pirate Caption."

"Pirate, huh…?"

She trusted her brother and who he willingly chose to associate with. He was strong enough to protect them and himself from most, sure, but he was a good enough judge of character that she knew he wouldn't even think about bringing anybody worrisome to their home. Still. A _pirate._ It was certainly out of the ordinary, they didn't get many of those.

"If he's the Captain, where's the rest of them?"

"Said something about Starving. I wasn't paying all that much attention."

"...Should I be worried?"

"No, he's harmless." The pause after he says that is certainly brow raising. "For the most part, don't let him near anything flammable." That only leads to her wanting to ask more questions. She doesn't, he's not done. "He's got two crewmates from the sounds of it. A man and a woman."

"A pretty lady?!"

He stared at her, amusement palpable, even from just the side eye.

Cinnamon coughs into her shoulder and shakes off the starry eyes she'd developed, she… may have perked up a bit too quickly there. "R-Right, um. Ignore that." He doesn't say anything but she can tell from that _look._ "Ignore that!" Thankfully, he only spares a few more seconds before going back to watching Ace lead Pepper in circles. She grumbles, leaning back onto the sil. "...He wants you to join his crew." She says it quietly, matter of factly.

"He does."

"And you're thinking about it."

She tells him. It's not a question.

The amused look disappears. His expression turned flat and neutral and she met it with her own, unimpressed one. "No. Such thoughts are not to be entertained."

She purses her lips.

"What-? Cin. Be pragmatic."

"I didn't say anything!"

But, oh. She knows that he's interested. The sea is a place that they'd never realistically entertained, it was a fantasy that their mother told stories about from her time there. When the pirate age didn't exist and Pirate Kings and Government weren't as strong- weren't as bloodied and desperate.

Momma rolls over in her sleep.

She glances back and can't help her small grimace.

Those stories seem so far away now. "But… if I was to say something," she watches him twitch and frown, "it would be that you shouldn't get rid of every possibility that might come your way. Besides… he looks like he'd be a fun Captain to have. And we both know you already like him."

It turns to a scowl. It's slight but it's there.

"No, I don't."

So stubborn, her stupid brother.

"Sure you do! You wouldn't have brought him back if you didn't!"

They're interrupted by Pepper howling and diving to tackle Ace's legs out from under him. It ends with him simply hopping over her, leaving only the ground beneath her and a face full of dirt in waiting. He has the decency to at least wince at the incredible fail. "Y-You…" She whips up, wiping at her face furiously and he makes a face at the sight of tears springing to her eyes. "You're not allowed to s-steal my brother!"

Ah, she's about to start crying, isn't she?

Ace opens his mouth to-

And gets interrupted. "Hey, how about we put a pause on the roughhousing for today? Pepper's certainly covered in enough dirt as is." Oh, it's everywhere on her sister. Under her nails, caking her cheeks, and it's all muddy too considering the downpour over the last few days. "Come inside. You too, Mister Cowboy!"

He seems surprised as she waves him over, then delighted when she adds: "We've got snacks!"

Spice stills.

"That may not be such a good idea-"

"Thank you for your hospitality!"

He hangs his head. This isn't going to be good for the fullness of their cupboards.

Oh, Spice. He doesn't know how right he is.

…

…

_"...Why didn't you tell me he was a blackhole…?!"_

"I tried."

 _"...You can't just say you tried! You barely did-_ Oh, Ace, are you done already? I must say that with you around we'll never have to worry about not having cleaned plates!"

Ace doesn't notice the dimple on her cheek twitching as she chirps with too much enthusiasm for someone who is internally mourning the empty shelves and kitchen cabinets of her home. All that food, all that food gone- the only solace she had was that at least it didn't go to waste.

What Ace can't help but take notice of is that all their snacks seem to be something from a giant forest bug, fruit and berries and mushrooms that he recognized as being forest dwelling species and, on the rare occasion, something more like what he's used to- crocodile, fish, or tiger. All of it was something that could be found or scavenged from the forest and he wonders how much Spice must sail over to Nest to collect it all.

The large backpack he'd been lugging around suddenly makes more sense.

Cinnamon comes out of sobbing in her head to notice his curiosity, and what's caused it. "Ah, yeah. None of us work for the factory so we don't get rations like the rest of the people here and, since we don't work, we don't make enough money to buy anything from the shops which have to pay…" She raises her hand far above her head. "...incredibly high taxes in order to stay running. Everything is just- expensive. So Spice goes and hunts for us at Nest and, I mean, sometimes I join him but bugs are-"

She shivers.

_"Gross."_

Ace snickers, "If they're gross, how do _you_ eat them?"

"I can handle them dead. But when they're alive and they're crawling around… with all their legs… Augh!" She hugs herself, turning paler and paler with just the thought. "I can't do it!"

It was just too much to handle. All the legs, the creepy monster-like walking, the eyes, and the weird itchy feeling that only appears when one was crawling across her skin- Yeek. Just thinking about it had her stomach turning over. The only bright side about Nest, since they were so impossibly huge, she never had to worry about not being able to tell where they were. It was the only good thing about the massive size, all the better to avoid them.

"Chehaha-" Ace turns to Spice. "-what about you then?"

He's got his own look of semi-disgust that mirrors his sisters, all wrapped up into one virtually blank package. "...Icky."

It has him cracking up even more. "But it's good though, right?"

"After we're done cooking it! We can make anything taste good," and she's being a braggart even though she knows that Spice probably bragged enough for both of them but, hell, if it isn't her turn to stick her nose in the air. "There's nothing that stands a chance against our skills!"

Ace is immediately interested and doesn't even try to hide it. "Oh, you're a chef too?!"

Cinnamon practically preens.

"Bet on it. Learned everything we knew from our mother, the best chef this world has ever seen!"

Spice looks to the ceiling. It doesn't take a genius to figure out he was annoyed. "...You don't need to tell him that."

"Shoot. I can tell him whatever I want."

"But it's not important."

"And, as i've said… I can say what I want…"

Oh, they can both already feel the argument coming on. Cin's side eye is strong from immense practice and Spice's hasn't gone a single day without use. They stare until both their lips press into a thin line. He doesn't like it when she overshares and she doesn't like it when he interrupts her.

"You don't need to mention it-"

"Don't tell me what to do-"

"Just stop and-"

"Maybe if I could finish my thought then I'd have time to listen to you-"

Ace watches the back and forth and feels his eyes light up as it just devolves into harsh whispering that he can't barely make heads or tails of. It's not the same sort of arguing that Luffy and himself would get up to- oh, they were much more verbal and prone to fists, especially if it was something silly -but it's funny watching other siblings get into it. "You guys are a riot!"

They both open their mouths to argue against that claim but don't get a chance as-

"I'm all clean now!"

It's Pepper. Coming rushing in from washing up with bare feet and still glistening with water, wrapped up in a, now damp, dress that's long enough that it's beginning to trip up her every step. "Can you tie it for me?!" Ace blinks as she shaves past his leg to turn her back on her brother, not even waiting for an answer. "I can't reach it."

Spice lets out a sigh. Familiar to Ace in a way he can relate, something tells him that Pepper does this a lot. And he can just barely hear him mumble a quiet and almost indecipherably soft, "Why do you always choose this one? You know it's too long for you… pass the ribbon here." Fingers carefully start tying the bow at her back, bunching up the back so the bottom hem didn't quite get caught on her toes. At least, not as badly.

"'Cause it's the prettiest!"

As if on cue, Cinnamon chirps, "Aw, such a pretty girl~!"

Pepper flushes. "Sto~op," she whines, "you have to say that- you're my sister! You always tell me and every girl you see that we're pretty!"

"That's because every girl is a pretty girl!"

She's about to say something, cheeks red, but her eyes flicker and catch sight of Ace and she lets out a sudden and angry puff of air. "Wait- what's he still doin' here?!"

"Be nice-"

That gets a stuck out tongue.

Spice pinches it and Pepper shrieks. "HEY?! T-That's not fair-!"

"Then don't do it."

She glares at him from the corner of her eye- it's nowhere near as effective as her siblings -and holds her mouth.

Ace cackles. Something certainly tells him that she doesn't like him all that much. "Chehaha, okay, okay," Ace crouches closer to her height, arms hooking around his knees so he could thread his fingers together and offer her a bow of his head. To be better at playing polite seeing as, if he did it standing up, he seriously doubted she'd even be able to see it. As tiny as she was. It was a stark contrast to her much, much taller than average siblings. And she'd probably see it as him mocking her. "I'm sorry for the intrusion, it would be most kind if you would allow me to accept your siblings' offer to enter your home."

Huh. Ace couldn't help it, staring at her, wondering if Luffy was ever as small as she was.

It was hard to remember a time when his brother was a seven year old, even if he had been tiny compared to a ten year old Ace, it's hard to actually- think that his brother had ever been such a small person. Ace couldn't even imagine himself being that small, ever, in his whole life. It was weird.

But- eh, whatever. Trying to recall just draws up blanks and he barely reminds himself to pull out of his thoughts so he can offer her what he wants to be, at least, a pleasant smile. Because it wouldn't do to have her, who is undoubtedly a beloved sibling of his future crewmate, hate him. "Is that alright with you?"

Now, Pepper is six.

Everything she sees is very much through a child's eyes. Every person she'd ever gotten to meet in her whole six years of life were often fleeting strangers or the friends she played with when they weren't having to run off to the factory or sick in bed from injuries they'd sustained from it or worse. Most people were hardly staples to her life, outside her immediate family, and having siblings were, well… they don't exactly take the time to think about their youngests opinion when they already decided on something.

Which was fair, it was hard for them. She understood, even as a six year old, that she shouldn't get up to too much trouble that would cause them to stress. It was just hard sometimes. She tried talking to Momma about it but she'd never gotten any words out of her… just grumbles.

Sometimes she wished Momma hadn't had to change.

She missed hearing her sing and speak.

(But that was selfish, wasn't it? Pepper didn't want to be selfish and Momma was still there, just like she'd promised.)

(...She just didn't like it when she would sometimes hear Cin cry at night.)

So when Ace did two things that she had never even known she wanted, erm, well, Pepper felt her feet get absolutely swept out from under her.

First, he let himself drop down to her level and actually asked for her opinion- not only her opinion, but her _permission_! Nobody ever thought to ask her what she wanted! N-Not about serious things! It was like she was an adult and not the lame kind. The lame kind were always telling her, 'oh, don't go roll in that dirt' or 'Pep, you can't just go tell strangers that their hair sucks' and- and- She liked dirt, _thank you very much!_ And people's hair here always sucked, it was like they never thought to put any care into it at all.

The second thing Ace did was… _well._

Be unaware of himself.

Because, unfortunately, that meant that, when Ace smiled charmingly at her, she was completely unprepared for it and was immediately disarmed.

-What? The majority of people she's met in her life had been from around the island. This is the first time she's met an honest to god _newcomer_ and... Okay.

Look. Ace is already much more attractive than a large percentage of the world's population. Seventeen year old Ace is boyishly handsome in a way that _already_ usually had people enchanted and thinking; cute, pretty, or about how drop-dead he'll be in a few years. And all of that was without him trying to be or- or even really being aware that he was good-looking.

A kid, with him actively trying to get them to like him, really stood no chance.

But Pepper was a trooper and toughed it out.

It didn't stop her face from heating up in a mixture of sudden shyness and embarrassment all rolled into one unnecessarily neat package as she buried her face in her brother's leg as soon as he was done tying the back of her dress together, not knowing why all her anger and fury had suddenly evaporated. Seemingly into thin air. "M-Maybe I'll forgive you for tryin' to steal my brother… if… if…" She inches further and further behind said-brother's leg. "...if you let me do your hair!" She blurts.

Oh, well, Ace blinks, he can agree to that easily enough. "It's only fair?"

There's guffawing.

Spice deadpans at her. But she- she's dying- Trying desperately to keep it all inside and stop b-but- one look at her sister has it erupting again. "Get the camera, get the camera, get the camera," she hisses into his ear, ignoring Ace's confusion, "this is a scrapbook opportunity!" It's hardly helped her in her attempt at smothering her laugh and elbowing Spice just has him stepping back and utterly bemused.

"What for?" He whispers back.

He doesn't know why they're whispering. Ace and Pepper can both definitely hear them. Pepper even squeals a quiet "nooooo" into his pant leg. Looking mortified at the suggestion.

She drags him away, so they can't hear. "I can see the title now: Pepper's First Crush!"

"She's _six_." Cinnamon pointedly looks at their flustered sister then back at him. Spice makes a face. "...I'm sure she has better taste than that."

Ace doesn't hear what they're saying but he just got the feeling he was being dissed.

"Just do it."

Cinnamon's not leaving him any room for argument.

He catches the tailend of Spice muttering something under his breath as he's being ushered off, "...At least I _hope_ she has better taste…"

Well, that tells him nothing.

Pepper's sputtering certainly doesn't help to clear it up and before he can even think to ask she's clasping his hand and dragging him away. "C-Come on, I'll s-show you m-my salon!" To which he raises both his eyebrows and follows her into probably the largest room in the entire house, directly opposite to the kitchen, and to a small with an old mirror set up on the wall, a pillow, and a tall stool that Pepper immediately hops onto. "Take a seat!"

Somewhat bewilder. He does.

And suddenly she's chattering about hair and this and that and asking questions about products Ace doesn't even recognize the name of and has absolutely no idea how to answer over half of them- I don't know. I don't know. I just use whatever bar of soap I have?" Apparently that's the wrong answer because Pepper looks a little like she's dying on the inside at the response.

He doesn't know why, that's not weird is it?

"Okay! Okay! Stay here. I can work with this, I think!" She squeaks and hops off her stool. It's not long that he has to wait before she's skipping back into the room. "I hope you don't mind if Momma joins us. She likes meeting new people!"

He blinks, turns around.

"Don't care."

Ace expects to see an older woman looking much the same as the rest of her children, as they are all clearly related that he doesn't think adoption is exactly in the cards. What he instead finds as Pepper comes bustling in with her arms full is a small Basset hound with stubby legs wandering at her heel.

He opens his mouth.

Cin and Spice magically appear in the doorway, a scrapbook and camera in each of their respective arms, and glares just challenging him to say anything.

Ace closes his mouth.

…

…

Look, even Ace doesn't know how this happened.

The only thing he knows is that it's getting harder and harder to keep his suffering inside. A twitching mess that looks ready to take off running or light himself on fire, the latter of which would be _all too easy_. Ace feels his eye twitch continuously, to the point that it was getting irritating.

While Cinnamon and Spice watch from across the room and-

Damn it!

Really-?! A _camera-_!

"Is… Is this really necessary?"

One minute he was letting the kid play around with his hair, she'd admittedly done an amazing job, taking out the braids and redoing them into three on each side before pinning them back with a pair of clips with whales on them. There were a number of sprays and things that had him coughing or his eyes watering and the air smelling like a conglomeration of flowers, thankfully she'd stopped once she'd noticed his face. It wasn't a look he'd ever imagined for himself and it felt weird to not have his bangsobscuring his vision- however slight it usually did.

And then she'd pulled out glitter and it all went downhill from there.

"It matches your freckles! Mine too!"

Was her only excuse.

_Snap. Snap. Snap._

"Yes." Spice deadpanned and- wow. He was really going to town with the pictures. Ace felt his eye twitch. Shit. There was glitter in his eye. "You know, I've never seen a pretty pirate before."

Ace opens his mouth-

"Don't look at the camera."

He looks away, but it's not long before he's struggling to not glance back.

Spice is deeply amused and keeps snapping pictures. The polaroids then get handed to Cinnamon and waved in the air until they come out. Before Spice is grunting and muttering an annoyed, "Oh, I can do better than that," and starting the process all over again. Ace feels his back straighten uncomfortably every time he hears it click.

"Why do you even have that anyway?"

He shrugs.

And Cinnamon answers for him: "He uses it to document recipes, he's working on a cookbook!"

"You don't have to tell him that."

Ace sighs as they start arguing under their breath again. Pepper hums like she doesn't even hear them as she, in her face tiara, stuffed animals at her side, starts brewing the imaginary tea for all of them. Handing Ace a china plate covered in small, finger foods that were, at the very least, _real_. He stuffed them into his face.

Not acknowledging the small whines and paw placed on his knee, the old dog's crying for food. And if he looks away he won't break to the teary, round eyes.

"Hey, so, uh…" The dog grumbles and huff at him and the paw starts to press down harder and harder with each snack that he devours. Ace pointedly stares in the other direction. Spices and Cinnamon's eyes sharpen and tell him that he should choose his next words carefully. "What's with your…" He struggles for a second, glancing between the dog and Spice before settling on a strange sounding, "...mother?"

It's hardly a word in his vernacular, he doesn't even think he's ever used it in his life. And applying it to a dog just throws him for a loop.

It does have Spice relaxing though.

Pepper perks up. "That's our Momma!"

"Uh-huh. Sure." Ace nods slowly. "Um, you're aware she's… a dog, right?"

She's organizing her teacups when her cheeks puff out. Funny, neither Spice or Cinnamon try to speak up to clear up the matter. In fact, he glances back over his shoulder, both are suddenly very interested in sticking their noses in Cinnamon's scrapbook. "Oh, right," her expression sours and, for a moment, her little crush on him disappears to be replaced with a flat tone of voice, "Are you gonna make fun of me? You are, aren't you?"

Over his shoulder, Spice holds up a picture of him and tears it in half. One of his brows raised in a threat that has a shiver running up his back.

"No, no, of course not."

He drops the photo and goes back to staring at the scrapbook.

"Why would I do that?"

It's not like this whole thing is weird or anything.

Pepper pretends like the assurance doesn't have her crush coming back in full force. "M-Momma… wasn't always our Momma!" She scratches the dog behind its ear. "It's because Momma promised to always watch over us and this was the only way she knew how to."

"Ah, I see. I see."

He does not see.

When she looks away he turns to the older siblings and mouths, _"For real?"_

Both huff out a sigh through their noses, oddly in sync, and shake their heads.

Ah, so it's just her then.

That- at least- makes more sense then all of them believing it.

Pepper hugs the dog and, for a six year old, her eyes turn sad and soft in a way that really doesn't suit her face. "Momma... kept getting sick. Ever since she had me." Her voice is quiet and pitched in a way that sounds like she's trying not to cry and Ace quickly raises both his hands in surrender because he really didn't need to know. Not if it affected her like that. "S-So she had to go away but she promised that she'd still watch over us and- and our dog- Momma- was the only one here that's always been with us. SO- um- So she has to be a dog now, you know?"

He has to fight off the urge to tell her- no, no that's not right. But something tells him that Spice wouldn't appreciate him breaking his little sister's heart.

"Well! Enough of that," Cinnamon slams her scrapbook shut with a loud slap of the pages. "That really is saying way too much. So how about we go and get some actual tea started!"

"Erm, can I…?"

They shoot him hard smiles. "How about you watch each other for just a moment, we'll be right back!"

He opens his mouth to say, uh, no, thank you, he'll be okay doing… anything else. But doesn't get the chance before Pepper is chirping, she was shaking off the bout of sadness without even a second to recompose herself, like she'd done it before, "Okay! I can watch him for you guys!" And Ace has never deflated so fast in his entire life.

"I don't think she meant-"

Spice interrupts on his way out. "No. Pep is right. We mostly meant for her to watch you."

Ace raises a finger in offense.

They're gone before they really see it.

And he sags into his seat, figuring that he might as well hang around until they get back. Playing Pepper's little game and trying to keep his confusion and bemusement off his face. He only partially succeeded.

It would've all been fine, too.

If it wasn't for Kat and Quinn walking in.

Kat was open mouthed and staring and very, very obviously delighted by the entire sight. But Quinn- O-Oh, Quinn was who he really didn't want to see him like this. There was just something inevitable about it however and- and...

Ace felt himself turn hot in mortification.

She was openly laughing. Eyes lit up so brightly and already- yeesh, that was fast -teasing him before she was even done cackling at his display. "T-That's a cute look on you, Princess!" And wow, does his face heat up fast at that comment.

"SH-SHUT UP!"

If anything, it just makes her laugh harder, to the point she was holding her stomach.

He sputters.

Then Pepper looks up, confusion palpable, until it all comes crashing down with the sight of the girl slung over Kat's shoulder, her voice cracks with tears, _"...Salt?"_

And Spice and Cinnamon walk in to see the commotion.

-0-

There was a time where she thought she was strong.

It wasn't very long ago.

Naively, she thought that, if she just tried hard enough, she could be as big and strong as her brother. As her sister. That once she had the chance to prove herself- she could do anything.

And she had begged him, just begged, for Spice to take her to Nest- to let her fight and do her part. So she could be the one to help and not just- Not just the one that could read manuals before she could talk, who could look at a device and see a puzzle to be solved, and _solve_ it. She could fix the oven if it broke down, could fix any device she got her hands on, but that didn't mean anything.

Not when he was so far ahead of her.

"Augh-!"

It doesn't work out the way she imagined.

She gets hurt and Spice has to save her. He doesn't even use his sword to do it, just kicks the baby mantis with his heel, and drops down in front of her. "I see that you were just going to lay there and take another hit."

Salt grits her teeth.

"Nothing that practice won't fix. I can-"

"What does it matter-? I'm useless."

"You're not useless, you're just bad at things." He paused, realizing how that was not helping. How it'd sounded. "Bad at this."

The look he gets tells him exactly what she thinks of that.

"I should just give up… I can't do anything right."

"Mn, yes, with that attitude."

Salt snorts, "Oh, please, we've been at this for hours, I haven't done anything but get in your way." She can't hear his thoughts as he turns to gaze around the forest, otherwise she would hear him fail to figure out how many hours, how many days and nights, he'd spent on Nest. He couldn't even remember his first day on the island, not anymore. It was sometime when he was young and his sword had been an impossible weight on his shoulders.

"To give up so soon, _how_ are we related…?"

"All I'm good for is- is being a cheap mechanic."

"Now that's not true. You're hardly cheap."

"I'm being serious."

"So am I." Oh, she's going to shout his ear off later, that's for sure. Spice sighs. "So you're not good at this. That doesn't matter." She doesn't believe him and it has him rubbing his forehead and falling on one knee to help her up. "It's just not your thing. That doesn't mean you're useless, you know that, right?"

"Doesn't it?"

"You wouldn't go up to the baker down the street and tell them that they're useless for baking bread all day, would you?"

It's rhetorical but she still answers, "...No."

"There you go."

And that's that, or at least, Spice assumes so, dragging Salt to her feet. Her grip on his hand remains tight as he goes to pull away and she's… gritting her teeth. "But… you're strong, you don't… you don't know what it's like. To see you an' Cin do everything while I'm… stuck at home watching Pepper."

He frowns.

"...Do you really think that I was never your age?"

Her face sours. "There's people getting hurt or dying every other day because of the factory and we… None of what we do to help them matters. Because the factory is still going to be there at the end of the day." There was a time, when she was trying to figure out the inner workings of an oven, that she had gone to one of their neighbors houses and discovered theirs broken. It'd had a couple wires burn and had only taken her an hour to fix after digging around for parts to replace it with. It hadn't meant anything to her but to them- it had meant everything.

And she had been so proud, so completely wrapped up in her own head, that she didn't realize that it had meant everything because the family had been using it to warm their house during the winter and couldn't afford to replace it. They're son was sick from an infection from an injury he'd gotten working at the factory and the cold, it would've killed him.

"Is that what this is about? You want to help," he rubs the side of his face, "is that why you've been going around trying to fix everything?" There was only so much she could fix before it began to become wearisome. "Have to say, I admire the tenacity. You should use it more often…"

She's got rage for miles and it's wiped from her sails with just a look.

"That's good, at least you're not weak-minded."

Salt drops her hand and kicks at the ground.

"...Look. You may not be able to lift my sword or pull a trigger on a gun. But that shouldn't matter. We're not here to solve all the world's problems."

"B-B-But- T-That-"

"If you want to help, just keep doing what you're doing. I am a chef. You are a mechanic. There's a lot you can do to just brighten someone's day." Spice smiles a little. "It means a lot to people if you just try a little."

She feels her insides curdle. Is that really _it?_

She didn't want to try. She just wanted to fix the problem already.

The stupid, irrational, too arrogant for her own good, part of her: it comes up with a plan to call for help. And it's a stupid dream of her made from naivete and a selfish need to try and be involved in everything.

Salt wakes up.

With those memories and thoughts playing through her mind it has her failing to register the standoff in the room, the tension as she's still stuck on Kat's shoulder and feeling nothing but shame and self-loathing. As she lifts her head to meet her brother's surprised gaze. The one she'd wanted to impress the most. "I'm sorry…" tears pricked her eyes. "I- I thought that I could do my part but I… I'm too weak to accomplish _anything…!"_

Spice's face turns cold with fury.

His voice doesn't shake with it but there's an edge, like a blade- and they all don't need to see him wield that sword to know that he is a swordsman. "Excuse me," he mutters, "I need to... _speak_ with someone."

-0-

"You know, all things considered, that's actually a good look on you, and what is that-?" She tilts her head with a sniff. "Roses? You seem more like a lavender kind of guy-"

_"Quinn."_

She stops. Not before dragging a hand through her hair and over her face. Eyes feeling heavy. Another day and she's already much too tired. Something tells her though- between looking at Kat, who's resting on a pillow with a dog sniffing at his face, and seeing the teary-eyed Salt breaking down in the arms of her two sisters, who seemed like they were caught between worry and just straight up fury, because after the sudden rush of their brother leaving the home she was left hiccuping with breaths wet from tears -there's still a lot of time left in the day. "Sorry, sorry." She's not sorry. Quinn crosses her leg over the other and leans back against the doorframe, it presses into her bruises and brings out a low hiss that she ignores. "Just…" Ace was in a similar position across from her, trying to shed the parts of dress that Pepper had forced onto him if she could manage it. "...trying to lighten the mood, I guess. It suddenly got really drab in here…"

"Wonder why." He's got his arms crossed over his chest and a serious expression. It's ruined by the purple glitter decorating his eyelashes and cheeks in… very unsubtle ways. What? Did he get it dumped over his head? Quinn was closer in that assumption than he'd be willing to admit. "What happened there?"

He gives a nod to both Kat and Salt, the two nursing their different injuries the best way they knew how- Kat, biting his tongue, and trying to sleep it off; and Salt, crying and cursing intermittently. Ace watches Quinn grimace and her eyes flick to his face. "I…" She bites her lip, brows furrowed until it makes her forehead wrinkle and a shadow fall over her face. "...made a mistake."

The admittance is- She doesn't want to tell him.

Thankfully, or un-thankfully, it depended how she looked at it, Ace didn't say anything.

So she continues, chewing on the flesh of her lip as she does so. "To leave him by himself, I mean." Even if she's not looking at him she can still see him from her periphery, watching his expression shift to something unreadable that has her nerves fraying. "Should've been with him. He, uh, went looking for Salt and Cona while I went to get some things. Speaking of which-"

It's an awkward transition and a shockingly sudden change of subject as she quickly starts to root around her bag.

"-I got you this."

"You thought of me?"

"Yeah, of course."

He seemed surprised. And touched as he accepts the offered bag she pulled out with a small smile on his face, the paper crinkling in his grip, "What is it?"

"Smoked, spicy jerky."

It's already halfway to his mouth. "You know me so well."

It gets a roll of her eyes. "Kehehe." Ace has eaten enough, by this point, that all he can really do is chew on a few select pieces and savor the onslaught of flavors and spice threatening to burn his mouth. The best choice she could've made, he loved spicy food. It was what kept him smiling, even as Quinn drooped back onto the doorframe. "Yes, well," she was caught up in her own head again, the mime like a nightmare she was forced to remember, "as I was saying, there was a… _man._ "

"Man?"

"A mime to be more exact."

He doesn't sound like he believes her. Which, she gets, but c'mon.

He was born into this world. He should have a good grasp on how weird it was. "I'm being serious." It only serves to further amuse him. "I met him earlier. But I didn't realize that he was looking for us. Otherwise I would've done something…"

Not that she knew _what._

There were just so many things that could've gone wrong. The more she thinks about it, the more she finds. Especially if she'd been the one to get attacked first. There- There would've been no coming back from that. And, yeah, she didn't like the outcome that resulted in a beat up Kat- Salt getting hurt, however, she could stand to deal with- but a for-sure (probably) dead-her didn't sound all that great at the moment.

Quinn's lip stung and she paused in her chewing. "I- I, uh… hadn't realized. When I met him. That he was searching for us. Because, I don't know, for whatever reason, he didn't attack me. I'm not sure if it was something I said or…"

Ace snaps off a bite of jerky with a sharp tug.

"Or… my _attitude_ …?"

Maybe it had something to do with the fact she hadn't exactly been acting like a pirate? But no, that doesn't feel quite right either.

The over the top and almost zealous application of apology and offers of kindness had felt drastically out of character. And it'd felt odd, faking a smile. Like something she'd fallen out of practice with and was only just remembering that she used to do. That explanation was far closer to the truth- she realized with a half second of surprise. There hadn't really been any need to truly fake a smile ever since she'd jumped into Ace's boat. And that was, well.

Food for thought.

It takes her another second to realize that she'd fallen silent and a silly smile had begun to stretch over her face. It gets a curious look from Ace and she snaps it to a frown just as quickly as it'd come.

"I'm not sure what it could've been. Maybe he just didn't recognize me?"

Oh, that guess is definitely not true and she knows it. It hadn't been her paranoia that drew him over to her. And her features already felt out of place without someone looking them over with a terrifyingly scrutinizing gaze. The acting is what got him to leave and- Huh. Now that she was thinking about it, she hadn't exactly been acting like a Noble either- as everyone seemed to claim she did in her spare time. Well, Salt and the bartender at least.

...Hey, so did that mean that one of them sold them out- That _Bitch!_

"No use thinking about it now. There's no reason to regret something you didn't even know about. I'm sure you did your best."

Oh, it's meant to reassure her. It doesn't.

Realization aside, she's got half a mind to run back to Starving to slap the woman, teeth grinding down hard together, the funny thing is, she very much doubted that she did do her best. But she doesn't know what she could've done to do any _better._ At least he was right about one thing- there was no use thinking about it. Not right now.

"...I was being serious, you know."

"Huh?"

"'Bout the hair." She raises her eyebrows, grin turning cheeky. "You should get me in touch with your hairdresser. If they can make you look good, I wonder what they'll do with mine. It's always been just a nightmare." She's already got her hand tangled in the wispy black mess to show it off, fingers getting stuck in the back of her ponytail. "I could stand to not include the glitter though." Quinn had once spilled a bottle in third grade and sometimes she could just _swear_ that she was still finding it on her.

He rolls his eyes and knocks into her. She can't help but giggle. "Well, it's the kid, so good luck with that." Quinn blinks. Yeah, she can see that. The girl's got rubber bands and scrunches covering her forearms, pushed all the way up to her elbows. "I don't think she likes us- or, er, me."

Oh, Ace, hopelessly wrong. Doesn't even know it.

"What makes you say that?"

"She spent the last twenty minutes trying to kick out my shins-" He's interrupted by 'the-girl-who-doesn't-like-him' suddenly hugging his leg. They share a quick glance over her head and Ace just turns more and more awkward the longer and harder she squeezes. She doesn't seem to be stopping. "Uh?"

It's got Quinn snickering and Ace at a loss. She takes a chance to steal a bite from his bag of food. "Yes, I can _certainly_ see how much she doesn't like you."

"Oy."

Pepper makes a noise in the back of her throat. It's the start of a word that she can't quite get up and they're forced to wait for her to work up the courage to come up with an explanation for the hug. It's got her rubbing her face and blushing up a storm of red color. "...Th…" She scuffs her feet against the ground, "...Thank you for… for bringing my sister back…"

And she was… thanking _Ace._

Wow.

Quinn chews on a piece of jerky. "What are we- chopped liver?"

Kat all but groans, "No, that's cool-! I did nothing. Not like I'm nursing a couple bruised ribs over here or anything." It loses all sarcastic affect by the sight of their dog snuffling against his face and trying to lick him. He throws an arm over his face, dramatic whine bubbling out. "I'm not in pain at all!" As if on cue, his side starts to throb and it has him hissing in pain.

Pepper's blushing face doesn't calm in its redness. "B-But he's the Captain, right? Doesn't that make him your guys's boss?" And, well, it's not like she's _wrong_ but it still has Quinn and Kat's lips pressing together in sourness. Because they can't really argue with that logic. "So that means I thank him… right?" She seems honestly confused but all Quinn can feel is like they're being sassed.

"My crew can do whatever they want." Is Ace's attempt to clarify. "Quinn and Kat can do whatever they want to. Otherwise, what kind of pirates would we be-?"

"I don't get it."

"Pirates are supposed to be free after all-"

It doesn't seem to be working. If anything, it seems to be making it worse.

That is, until the older sister, around Quinn's age, gets fed up and swipes at her head. She hits nothing but empty air but it's enough to have her squeaking and jumping away. "Pep, say thank you properly!"

"B-But I did!"

"To the pretty lady-"

Quinn pauses in her chewing and she almost instinctively looks around the room to try and figure out who she was referring to, before. "-Oh! Right. Me." That gets an amused snort from Ace over her shoulder. "Hey, how am I supposed to know-?"

"And the pretty boy!"

This time Quinn actually does. Gaze shifting between Ace and Kat. She knows it's Kat, given the context, but, she squints, it's really not a distinguishing factor. "...That could be either."

Ace gives her a flat look.

"Wha- I- _Fine._ " Pepper huffs.

There's a determined look coming over her.

And Quinn is quick to raise both her hands, stepping away from any potential hugs that might come her way as she gets made out to be the first target, "Oh no, I don't want some pity 'thank you'." Pepper doesn't stop. "No- No! Stop it. Hey-!" Her legs get hugged. "Oh… kay… _this_ now."

Her aversion to it must show on her face because Ace is laughing at her.

She's not really irritated.

She's just uncomfortable. And the longer Pepper holds on the more antsy she gets.

Kat comes to her rescue. And she sighs in relief as Pepper hops away, "Don't worry, I'm selfish. I'll absolutely accept any pity 'thank you's' that come my way."

He gets a pity thank you.

It's especially pitiful when Pepper figures out she can't even attempt to give him a hug. Too bruised. Instead offering a consoling pat to his shoulder. With a chirp of, "Thank you!" Even as pitiful as it is he's still got a blinding grin on.

It's the sugar on top of a burnt dish.

(He still gives her a proper hug later. When he stands. And she can tell that it has his ribs aching even though he mutters, "Worth it!")

Because it's the first thing that has Quinn relaxing, even as Ace insists that they have to go after the pissed off swordsman, and Kat begrudgingly follows, pulling his arms into her jacket and practically disappearing into the fabric.

...Then Ace sets someone on fire: "Not again!"

_"Again?!"_

…

…

It took all of three seconds to figure out what happened.

One, because his first instinct had been to cleave the two pirates in half at the sight of the injured and unconscious Salt hanging from their shoulders, gut feeling telling him that they- _they_ were the ones responsible.

The second one was taken to hold himself back and realize that- no. That was wrong. (They should be relieved, he can see the sudden tension in their faces and the flicker of shock, completely unprepared.) And taking the chance to look over Salt's coming-awake form, easily enough he quickly finds her injuries. How could he not? With the color they were already festering.

The third was to take it all in.

To note that Ace had tensed and was stepping up, starting to watch his every move, wide eyed and fully aware of the sudden spike of murderous intent towards his crew. Even as it faded, he still wasn't letting up in his vigilance. Spice let himself apologize for that, if only in his head. Because it was obvious that it wasn't their fault, he recognized those bruises- the type that they were- on both his sister and the red headed gilled one, who he (correctly) assumed had stopped them from being even worse. The two pirates before him would have never been able to cause such a distinct and long handprint.

He barely registered that he'd even said anything as he left.

Only hearing the gasp of breath the two released. As the red head whisper-shouted to his companion, "I thought he was about to kill us!" Receiving a slow and unsettled nod agreeing with him.

But he's gone before he can hear any reply from their Captain, even if he feels the stormy grey eyes following him as he leaves. He sees, from the corner of his eye, the red head drop off Salt with his sisters and collapse to the floor in a heap of oversized sweatshirt. The woman watching him fall immediately turns away to greet her Captain with a tap of her fingers against the brim of his hat, a familiar gesture that brings a smile to the cowboy's face. It reminds him of how Ace had talked about them all- Spice shook his head.

There was no point in thinking about it.

Especially since, as always, the crowds part before him. And soon his house was out of sight.

At least, this time, he knew why they were avoiding him.

The aura he gives off is deadly and even if he doesn't want to give the civilians a reason to fear him, he knows that they don't like it, enough that they don't want to get in his way. Really, only an idiot would get in his way.

Unfortunately, the factory employs some rather idiotic people.

It's not good for his mood.

"Oh- Oh no, please, d-don't- Ah!"

There's a crash.

He's already on edge but it's enough to have him pausing in the middle of the street, stopping in his tracks.

And sighing.

"This man needs new material."

There's another crash.

"It's Escher- he's tearing the bakery apart-!"

"Where's Tiberius-?! He's supposed to be handling him-"

Yes, yes, he doesn't even need the context. He already knows who it is and knows why he's causing trouble. It means that Tiberius had decided that he was better off elsewhere and that actively ignoring his job was a good plan for the rest of the day, all too wrapped up in his own head to keep the man he was _supposed_ to be watching in line. And Spice wants so badly to just keep walking. Straight to the factory, not sparing a thought to the idiotic man labeled the enforcer of the factory, one that he simply doesn't want to deal with, because he's already so angry- so filled with rage -that he knows it'll only make him worse to deal with Escher amicably.

Then again… Maybe he didn't have to be amicable this time. After all, testing his blade would grant him a momentary reprieve, wouldn't it?

He tilts his head.

It's not like he doesn't deserve it.

…

…

Escher is not… Not a good man.

If you can even call him that.

More a bastard child trapped in the too large body of something close to a sumo wrestler. His line of thinking can probably be summed up by three things: eat, fight, and fight some more. Admittedly, not the worst of things. And, for some reason, Spice thinks that may also apply to the pirate captain he'd unfortunately taken a liking to, but, er- Esher had the intelligence of a cricket, the charisma of someone that's never interacted with a real person in his life, the face of a shaved bulldog, and the emotional capacity of a pissed off pomeranian.

It's why he's kept on such a short leash by Tiberius.

That leash gets lost more often than not.

Tiberius thought himself above such a menial job and better than work _in general_ \- and all were left punished by his arrogance.

"Sourdough-! Give me sourdough-!"

He can already hear the bellowing, the voice dripping with pulled syllables and a dullness only brought on by a lack of thoughts as he demands food. He gets what he wants, takes a bite, and, as always, he tosses it aside.

"Not good enough!"

Some part of Spice shrivels up and dies at the sight of the mutilated bread, cast aside on the floor.

His mutter is low. "The flour, the water, the yeast… that cost more than a family makes in a week under the factory." He clicks his tongue, voice slow and steady and deceptively small and left unnoticed by the bumbling man almost twice his height. "Have you no respect? Have you no honor? Have you no… appreciation for the hand that feeds you?"

He knows the answer already, it's all very much rhetorical.

It's a wonder how none of them have noticed him yet. How Escher continues to berate the baker and toss things around without a care. Two windows have already been broken, so has a table, and the kitchen is in such a state of disarray that it would bring shame to any chef that let it get to such a point- and the baker is looking shamefaced and horrified to match it, even though it's clearly not his fault. His livelihood desecrated in mere minutes.

Spice feels the rage slide over him in waves, it's cool and calm and-

He wanted to slam his sword into Escher's ribcage.

Absolutely murderous.

"Make more! And make it good this time!"

"R-Right away!"

Even the pirate captain had finished his ravenous devouring of bugs, even as unusual an ingredient it was.

But this is a norm with Escher and there's nothing _really_ normal about it. He wasn't even a citizen of the Twin Isle's, just one of the two brought to the island by the Marine Captain in charge of overseeing the Celestial Dragons plant. The Mime and Escher. The two destructive menaces that were only slightly better than the Captain himself, if only because they mostly operated under orders.

Briefly, his memory draws up how the Captain had 'convinced' the majority of the people that the factory was a good idea, playing on their fears, and how those still reeling from having to abandon Nest to the insects, had fallen for the propaganda when it'd promised work and prosperity and other things.

And that those- even those honored by the Marines -were shamed and ridiculed for noting that the system they'd suggested was not… good.

"Escher…" He turns at his name, mouth hanging open like he didn't know how to close it, drool dribbling past his lips. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Tiberius- Tye-" He blubbers with the name, mind fumbling around the difficult syllables. "Tibby-" He settles on. "Tibby took off to go meet some strangers at the beach so now I can do whatever I want!"

Strangers…?

Those two pirates. Quinn and Kat. They were the only ones he could think of that Escher wouldn't at least know of. It brings up the question of where Tiberius was now, because he definitely wasn't with them now and Tiberius was not a man that he would allow in his family's home. That man desecrated everywhere he stepped.

"Now, bread! Bread! Bread!" He claps with each repeat of the word. "Hey, wait a second… You're a chef, aren't you?! You cook me food too!"

"There's no need to. You won't be eating."

It takes a moment for him to work through the words. Apparently they were too complicated. It was almost as Spice had been speaking an entirely different language and it was just completely incomprehensible, Spice wouldn't be surprised if that was how it sounded to Escher. The more seconds that passed, the more it seemed as if it were the case. Watching Escher's face screw up, turn red with thoughts failing to chug along, was a lot like watching a snail crawl.

Well, at least with a snail, Spice knew it would reach its destination eventually.

With Escher though… he wasn't quite so sure.

"That's a no?!"

Oh, will you look at that, he got there.

Spice's brows raise. Surprising.

Even if he doubted he understood all of it, probably only figuring out any of it because it was a resounding, 'No'!

And, much like a bratty child, he didn't like being told no.

"Why's that?" He spits. "Cook for me or I'll-"

Spice has his hand on his swords hilt.

"Simple, really."

It would be so easy to just cleave through him. To cut and maim and leave it at that. But the bakers watching and stuttering and he knows that it'd only be used as an excuse by the Marine Captain to torture them if he actually kills Escher. And, as a side note, he doesn't think the bakers would appreciate the copious amounts of blood staining their store. Still. He pulls his sword free, twists until he can look at his reflection in the flat of it's length.

He sees himself smile.

"Your jaw's going to be too broken."

It's not quite successful in blowing off steam. That would be all too easy. But it does help to get him thinking straight and maybe not on a one-way path to carve a Marine Captain in two- one that he knew he wouldn't be able to beat. Not with his Devil Fruit.

(The shitty, useless Devil Fruit that was just one big headache.)

It doesn't stop him from marching into the factory, wiping a smidge of blood off his cheek, the baker still thanking him profusely under her breath as he leaves, and slamming the door to the Captain's room open.

The syllables of his name like a curse on his lips. _"Ki-gu!"_

…

…

It scared him.

She knows.

To see Salt like that.

Pepper had never seen her brother so afraid. And she's scared to. Because this is the first time she'd seen one of her sisters get injured, her brother was always there to protect them. And he- She knew he got hurt sometimes too. But he never showed her his injuries even when it was obvious something was wrong.

And so she doesn't know what to do.

Because she's so used to it not being a big deal. But this is a big deal and Salt is crying and-

She shoves Momma into her sisters arms, even though it elicits a doggy grumble and whine. "Mo- Momma always knows what to do! She'll help you!"

It's the most she can think of doing. She can't hug her. Salt had almost tore her voice from yelling when she'd tried. The pain is unbearable. And Pepper feels tears dripping down her face once again.

Cinnamon mutters, "If only we had pain killers…"

At least those pirates that brought Salt in were nice. They didn't seem to hold it against Spice when it looked like he was about to kill them. She thinks they understood that he was just afraid too.

They ended up leaving not long after him. She hopes that they can find her brother. They- She doesn't want Ace to take him away, but he's… Pepper thinks he's okay. He's not going to outright steal her brother, she doesn't think, not without her permission.

Pepper thinks that made him a good guy.

And the black haired lady had patted her on the back when she left, even though she'd acted like she was adverse to the idea of touching her. And the redheaded boy with the weird teeth and scars had given her the warmest of hugs she'd ever received. It felt like it was the first hug he'd ever gotten.

They seemed…

Nice.

And she thinks Spice could use a little nice. Even if it made her heart ache.

"I don't want-" Pepper scrubs her arm across her face as Salt grits her teeth, hard enough that they can hear them creak. There's a lot of emotion written on her face. And it's mostly anger and frustration- "the _stupid dog!_ "

"I-"

Pepper feels her heart stop.

Watching Salt shove Momma off. The dog doesn't even seem bothered, rolling away and back to her bed. But that's not the problem.

Glistening eyes blink. Slow and deceptively calm.

"B-But… she's not just a stupid dog…!"

"Yes, she is! Mom's gone! Stop pretending that she's here, you're not helping anything-!"

Salt feels herself regret saying it the moment it leaves her mouth. But she can't bring herself to regret it enough to try and take it back, or apologize. Because she was sick of pretending that everything was okay and good and that they could be happy. It was all just a delusion- trying to extend the peaceful illusion that nothing was broken beyond repair.

"She's dead and there's no way we can fix it! So stop trying too!"

Cinnamon looks pale.

Pepper feels a breath escape her, almost imperceptibly shaky. She thinks she might look like Spice in that moment, trying desperately to be strong, but it's quick to fall away. Her bottom lip wobbles. "Tha… That's not true…" Salt throws an arm over her face and doesn't say anything. "You know that-" she sniffles- "s-she promised, after all!"

"...She promised a lot of things, huh?"

It's the last straw.

One that has her stumbling away, as if she's been scorched, and she feels like she's going to throw up. "Oh, Momma, I know it's not true." She sniffs as she finds the old lady curled back onto her doggy bed, unable to do anything but bury her head into the dark fur. "Salt's just… Salt's just being stupid 'cause she got hurt."

The fur tickles her nose and she sneezes.

"I'm used to people tellin' me I'm wrong."

It happened a lot. When Pepper first started to claim that her dog was her mother. No one believed her then, especially not the other islanders, and they'd made it known every minute of every day. And she's not sure how- but at some point they stopped saying anything anymore.

(Naively, she thinks it's because they started to believe her.)

But to hear her sister tell her that it's all fake. That- That hurt the most.

Pepper's eyes squeezed shut, so tight that tears stopped escaping. Arms wrapping tighter and tighter around Momma until her shoulders were shaking from more than just tears. A low, shuddery breath is let out against her side. It sounds wet and thick and she's trying to not be upset- or give any thought to Salt's words- but, she chokes, she can't help it. Salt couldn't be right, could she?

"You'd never break a promise to me, r-right?"

It has Momma groaning and plopping her head deep onto her bed.

There's no answer.

Pepper never expects any- anymore.

...

...

"Hey, what're you up to, Pep?"

She's three.

And there's not a lot she remembers. She was hardly able to speak properly, let alone really parse together memories and images on a linear timeline that made sense. She just knows that she's small and her mom seems so, so far away. It takes all her concentration and strength- tongue sticking out between her lips -as she props up the purple stool and kicks off the ground to get up. "I wen' outside and it was really cold and dark and I almost didn't see it, but the moon helped, and I had to jump around and-" She's babbling. It's stilted and awkward and said in one really long breath. "But I named him and-"

"Is that a frog?"

Her tongue twists and she finally- Finally! -manages to pull herself into her mother's lap. "Uh-huh!"

And she's looking up at her, showing off the small frog clasped between her cupped fingers. Just tight enough to keep him from jumping free and- Pepper doesn't remember her face.

But she remembers the laugh she lets out. It's soft and light and it makes her own cheeks swell with the force of her smile. It tapers into coughs before long. She remembers those too. How, whenever she wanted to see her mother, she could only get a few minutes of talking out before the coughs started to rake her body.

They've been getting louder recently. And she hasn't been able to talk to her as much.

Pepper doesn't think anything of it. At the time.

Because her mother had always been like this. There wasn't a time she didn't know of where she wasn't stuck to a bed and coughing through the nighttime. Where her eyes looked tired and she wanted to do nothing but sleep, not even able to stomach her own food anymore. Apparently, she had gotten sick a lot in the past few years. The doctor that came by sometimes said that it had something to do with her im… imino… It was some big world that Pepper couldn't say. And it was keeping her from getting better.

Pepper just knew that sometimes her mother's skin felt like ice as she wrapped her arms around her. The hugs had been getting weaker and she missed the way she used to squeeze so tight that it felt like she might stop breathing.

Her mother's smile is warm. She remembers. It always was. No matter how small or weak it got.

"I named him Jasmine!"

" _Ohh~_ That's a girly name. Why'd you choose that?"

She babbles.

It makes sense to her but her mother smiles in that silly way that tells her that she doesn't really understand even though she's listening. "'Cause of your favorite tea- the one that the man brings sometimes!" He didn't come so much anymore. Pepper thinks that they're angry at each other. She doesn't know why, grown ups can do whatever they want, she doesn't see what they have to be upset about. "He's white like the man's hair and he's got yellow on like his-!"

Her mother coughs and she stops.

"Aa, I see…" She doesn't sound like she's all too happy. Whether that's because Pepper brought up the man or she doesn't like the name, she can't tell. "You know, I'm not really friends with that man anymore." She says gently.

Pepper snorts.

She knows that. That's the problem!

"Why don't you say sorry? You miss him, don't you?"

"Mnh. I do," she sighs, "he was a much better man a long time ago. Handsome too."

"Gross!"

"But, you should know, people change. Especially when they think they're in the right." Her mother boops her on the nose. "And I have nothing to apologize for. Because I know that I'm right."

"What're you even fightin' for?"

She gets squeezed a little tighter around the middle. It only lasts for a second. "Grown-up stuff." She pouts. That's not really an answer.

Pepper's frog tries to escape.

"No!"

Her mother's hand jumps out, faster than lightning, and the frog is caught in the air. Delicately handled. She lets out a breathy laugh, "Oh, don't let this one escape, you wouldn't want the dog to eat it, would you?"

She bounces in her lap as she gets handed the frog back. "I'll- I'll keep him forever and- do you think he needs food? What do frogs eat- I want to-"

She's laughing.

And it sounds- she didn't know the words then- angelic.

"No, no, no," her fingers curl around her own, the frog doesn't try to jump away again, "you know, you'll have to release him, don't you? He's a frog. He belongs in nature… or in soup."

Pepper gasps.

"I-I mean. Not soup. Just nature."

She's got a fast recovery time.

Her three year old attention span definitely helps keep her mother from getting caught in the mistake. It gets a sigh of relief and a quiet mutter, "Ouu… Well, now I know you don't have the same sense of humor as your brother…" It sounds almost disappointed. "But Pep, we can't take things from nature unless we're using them for something. It's important to only take what you need and to use every little bit of it."

"B-But frog…!"

"Especially not butt frogs."

Pepper squirms. "No- Stupid joke!"

"Yes, yes, very dumb. You like calling me out, don't you?" Her mother squeezes her as she muses, her eyes twinkling. "So why don't we let the frog be free now?"

She's pouting and a tantrum is definitely coming on. But when her mom starts coughing, trembling with the force of it, she forces herself to stop before she begins. It would only make her upset and her coughing worse.

Pepper waits for it to subside.

"...I don't want to let him go, he's nice…"

Her voice is small, quiet.

Her mother smiles- it's weaker than it was, much more tired than before. "I know. Sometimes you have to say goodbye to the nicer things in life." The frog is pulled gently from her hold and she doesn't try to stop her as she leans against her mother's stomach. The window is opened and it's placed on the sil. There's moonlight bouncing off its body, bathing it in blue, as it takes it's chance to hop away. "See? He's happy that he's left."

And something in her little heart aches. Aches more than anything she's ever felt before. Even more than whenever her mother collapses while trying to work, wanting nothing more than to cook- to continue acting as she had before she was sick. Apparently, she had been teaching Spice and Cinnamon to cook. Had promised Salt that she would teach her too. But that had fallen through as it became more and more obvious that she wasn't going to be able to carry herself anymore.

Salt had been upset that day. Pepper remembered it very clearly.

(She hadn't known she was there but Salt had destroyed her room in tears. It'd taken her days to put it back together but she didn't stop crying the whole time.)

(Salt got upset a lot.)

(It always made Pepper feel bad for her because it never seemed like she could do anything to help.)

"Salt says-" she wipes her arm furiously across her face- "that you're going to have to go away too. 'Cause you're sick."

She draws up in alarm. "Salt said that…?" She seems frustrated.

Tentatively, she draws her arms away from her embrace. "Does that… Does that mean that you'll be happier when you leave us? Like the frog?"

The breath she lets out is slow, shaky, and despairingly sad. "Oh, Pep, no. I- I'm only ever happy when I'm with all of you guys, you know that, right?"

"You're leaving us."

She kisses her crown. "Not like that."

"But Mom-"

She gasps in fake offense. "Don't call me a butt mom!"

Pepper squirms again. "No, it's a stupid joke-!" It defuses the tension though and her mom laughs and laughs. "Mom- I mean it!"

"I know, I know." She giggles. It slows down to nothing and Pepper buries her face against her. "I don't… want to leave. I wouldn't if I could." She states slowly. Her voice drags with a tired lilt that makes her sound sleepy. "If I could promise to always be by your side, I would in a heartbeat. "

"Y-You can though! You don't have to leave and-"

She's hushed.

"I'm sorry, but I do. It's not something I can… stop anymore." There's a pain in her voice. Deep and sorrowful and incomprehensible to her young ears. "It would be unfair to promise you anything… not after all that I've failed to keep."

She thinks of Salt and her anger and frustration.

The torn pillows and destroyed room.

Pepper doesn't want to feel like that.

It made her flinch and hide away under her covers so she didn't have to hear it.

But she doesn't want to give up hope more. "I don't care! You can promise me-" Pepper hugs so tight that it makes her arms ache- "I know you won't let me down! I just want you to stay! Forever an' ever!"

It's not done out of malice. Or out of humor. Or even with a thought. No, to her it's simply trying to hang onto her mother. And to her mother, who coughs and feels bad and just wants to give her a semblance of peace of mind, no matter how fleeting it would be- Sighs. "...Alright, Pep. Are you sure?"

Is she sure? Of course she is!

She doesn't really weigh the consequences that her mother is trying to get across.

"Okay, okay," her mother's smile is watery, "Maybe in another life. I'll be able to keep all my promises."

"What'd'you mean?"

She laughs. "Maybe I'll become one of the Nest Island bugs and I can seek petty revenge on the factory."

Her nose wrinkles. "Ew. Bugs are creepy-lookin'! Cinnamon said so!"

"Oh, I guess you're right. What would I know? I'm just a butt mom." She groans in response. "I'll stop, I'll stop! Your reaction is just too funny- a three year old shouldn't be able to have that much contempt." Oh, she's laughing. The noise is bell-like. "My pretty face deserves to be on something cuter, don't you think? Maybe I'll become a cute, little dog."

"A... dog?" She doesn't get it. "Why would you become a dog?"

"So I'll always be there to watch you. Dogs are cute and they've got a good sense of smell-" She perks up. "I'd be able to find some tasty ingredients if I was able to sniff them out, huh?"

Pepper is so excited. It feels like she's about to vibrate out of her own skin. She doesn't get to see the pain in her mother's eyes or how desperately she wants to be able to squeeze her as tight as possible or how she fights back another coughing fit that threatens to push through her. "You're going to become a dog?!"

It's a joke. But it goes right over her head. "I'm not sure. A dog would be fun though." Her mother giggles. "So, how about that promise? I promise that, no matter what, I will never leave you. We're family, after all, we have to stick together. There's nothing anyone could do or say that would make me want to leave, got that?"

"Got it!"

Pepper crushes her into her own hug. Because she's gotten her mother to promise- promise that she'd never leave! And she had one thought on her mind…

She couldn't wait for her to become a dog!

...

...

"Momma…" She moaned between hushed sobs.

It felt like regret in her chest.

Why- Why would she choose something that couldn't speak back?

All that she would get were barks and yipps and growls. And she just wanted to hear her voice again- her real one. Because, while it had been fun at first, now she just- "I miss you…" She whimpers. "Even though you're still here. It's like you're not. I want you to go back to normal! That way… That way you can at least talk to us… like you used to!"

But, of course, it's all for naught.

-0-

It's an unnecessarily dark room.

Which, normally, wouldn't be something that caught anyone's attention.

But Tiberius had been a part of this factory since it's beginning and he knows enough about what kind of man the Captain is- enough to know that the only reason it's kept dark is because it's a power move. To let the shadows fall where they may. And the one in-charge left to bask in others fear of what's unseen.

The fact that the Captain quickly hides the flashlight he'd been using to read only solidifies that fact even moreso.

"A-Ah, Tibby!"

He feels his insides die a little with the use of the nickname.

That pirate wench had used it earlier and he'd have punched her if not for her companions.

(He wouldn't have. Not because he didn't want to. But he was not a man known for fighting. He- He thinks he would break his hand if he ever tried to punch.)

(When you make a fist, your thumb is supposed to go on the inside, right? _Right?_ )

"S-Sir, please, I am not a child… do not call me that."

"Remember to knock next time." It's cheeky and playful and threatening, all at once; Tibby swallows in a nervous mess. Not liking the way he's unable to say anything more, there's a knot in his throat and like always when dealing with confrontation, he can't help but freeze. The Captain- Kigu -gives a dark chuckle. " _Good._ "

He waits.

And, when Kigu finally waves his hand in a signal that he's allowed to speak, he chokes out the words as quickly as he can, afraid that he might not get the chance to say them out loud. "The Mime failed to eliminate any of the people you ordered him to." It gets a pause out of Kigu, at least. And, internally, he dances with joy. Because it's working and-

"Hm. I trust the Mime to get the job done," he taps his papers into an even stack, "I'm sure he's just toying with them a little longer than usual. You know how he is. Always playing with his prey."

His hopes were crushed in an instant.

The Captain had always given the Mime the benefit of the doubt.

Tiberius puffs up, trying to rally to the occasion. Even if following the mime train-of-thought was a lost cost, he still had more that could work. He just had to be confident that it would. So long as he put in his best effort, everything would work out. Or, that's what he liked to think. "That's not all! Salt…" He gives a dramatic pause. "Was with the pirates."

"...Who?"

He deflated.

"You know, Salt!"

"The… ingredient?"

"N-No." It doesn't seem to be ringing any bells. Ugh, he forgot that the Captain was hopeless with names. It took him forever just to remember _Tibby._ "The second sister of Spice that you ordered to be taken care of."

"Oh, right, right." At least that seemed to have jogged his memory. "What of it? The Mime was sent on the job and, as we established, I'm sure he's doing just fine with taking care of them all. How hard will it be to take care of-"

He squints down at a crumpled report. And it's dark enough that he can't really see it so he wheels around in his chair, trying to hide the fact that he was using a flashlight to see the words. Tiberius felt his eyes roll before he could stop. Kigu's antics were getting ridiculous. He wheels back around, face blank, as if he hadn't done any such thing out of the ordinary.

"-a cowboy pirate, a traitorous noblewoman, and a… fishman? Huh. Be one of that guys crew. Arlie? Arlo?"

"Arlong, sir."

"Right! That pirate!"

Tiberius licked his lips. They suddenly felt very dry. What he would give for a cup of tea right now… "You're right, sir. About the mime getting them all, I mean."

"Of course I am. I'm always right."

"However-"

Fear.

It falls over him. Heavy, like a wash. A crippling weight only emphasized by the oppressive darkness and he struggles to speak- "Sir, please, let me ex-ex-explain!" He stutters. "It'll ma-make you ha-happ-happy! I'm sure of it!"

He gasps as it disappears. Like waking up from a nightmare. And while he doesn't sigh in relief, or relax, or even stop the tears from pricking at the corners of his eyes, it's enough for him to actually speak. "The- The pirates- They already made a show of attacking people affiliated with us-" He grunts. "-W-What do you think Salt is doing with them?!" It's rhetorical and the Captain doesn't answer. But his arm lowers a bit.

Before it was stretched out in that threat of overbearing power-

He didn't want to think about what it would do to him.

"And if Salt is conspiring w-with pirates, what do you think _Spice_ is doing?"

It all seemed to come back to him. Didn't it?

"You know how much of a pain his mother was, when the factory was first getting implemented. Do you really think her ideas died with her?"

Because, really, it's not so much that he's gone and done anything against them. It's the fact that there is an insignificant and annoying blip on their radar. A _potential_ for problems. One's that they would rather not deal with if they didn't have to. But they can't outright attack him-

Spice was too beloved by the island. They would riot if some injustice befell him.

And, as strong as the Captain is, his power isn't suitable against a group of people. And he knows it all too well too. No matter how much it pisses him off.

Kigu grinds his jaw, "You're always trying to get me to go after him, aren't you, Tibby? It's got me thinking you're trying to cause something." He quivers at the suggestion. "If you want him dead so much, why don't you do it yourself-? Invite him and those pirates to tea. You're good at that, right?"

Stricken, he tries to come up with words to respond.

"S-Something tells me p-pirates aren't all that open to tea."

"Well, you never know."

He opens his mouth. Closes it.

He feels… _sick._

(After all this time, you'd think he'd get used to the feeling.)

Tiberius jumps as doors slam open behind him.

_"Ki-gu!"_

Kigu perks up, laughter bubbling, thick and tense. Already crooning, "If it isn't the man of the hour, for what do I owe the pleasure-?!"

It's Spice.

Tiberius brightens. Yes, everything was coming together. Not as he wanted. But this was just as swell. Because if Spice was angry enough to come all the way into the factory looking for the Captain then maybe, just maybe, he would be pissed off enough to actually kill the- "Tch. Hang on." Spice grunted.

He flips on the light switch.

"The audacity!" Tiberius gasps, horrified, hoping to egg Kigu on.

Unfortunately, he's too busy trying to hide his flashlight to pay attention.

He deflates. That figures.

It wasn't as if everyone didn't already know that the dark was just for aesthetic purposes.

(He thinks they were all hoping that he'd ruin his eyes and go blind from the strain.)

Honestly, if it was such a big deal, what do they even have that switch for in the first place?

"Is the light blinding? Does it just make your eyes tear up? Maybe you wouldn't have such a problem with them if you weren't always hiding up here in the dark," Spice stalks forward, snarl baring his teeth, "making others do your bidding 'cause you're too much of a coward to do it yourself."

"You've got a bad attitude today."

"I wonder what could have caused it? Maybe I ate some bad meat. Maybe I stayed out in the sun too long. Maybe that's it. I got heatstroke. It's just all gone to my head, making me delusional. So-" Spice bites. "Wanna tell me if I'm right? Was it a delusion of mine that saw the Mime's prints all over my sister? Was it a delusion that her arm is rendered useless? Just one of your little nightmares that made her _cry?_ "

Oh, he's seriously pissed. That was probably the most he'd ever heard him say all at once. Tiberius tenses, he doesn't know how the Captain can remain so lax.

Especially as Spice stomps closer. Until he's all but bearing down on them both.

"Hm? Oh, I don't know what you mean." Kigu chuckled and looked over the papers in his hand. "Wait-! Here." He taps the report on the pirates. "It says that we got word from Starving that your dear little sister was colluding with pirates! Now, as a Marine Captain, I can't possibly look past such a crime-"

Spice glares. "Oh, I'm sure you're doing the best you can. As we all now, the Marines are known for their _astonishing_ capabilities." He snipped. "Tell me, when _was_ the last time you weren't at the top of the bell curve? Really, exemplary work. And-" He gasps a little; it's so obviously fake. More a straight up deadpan. "What's this? You did it _all_ by yourself. What a big boy!"

"Watch your mouth, Spice. We don't have a problem right now-"

"Except we do. Don't we?"

"...if you'd like, I could make a bigger one."

"Here I thought you were always too afraid to."

"I'm not the one scared, am I?"

Spice is staring. Empty. But his fingers twitch in threat.

Tiberius licks his suddenly dry lips. Doesn't like this at all. Because this wasn't how he imagined it- He wanted… a fight. Not a standoff with himself too afraid to move away. Fearful that the slightest move would catch either of their attention and end with him beheaded or caught in one of Kigu's nightmares.

Spice's voice is low as he speaks.

"The Mime can't beat me. Escher-" He smirks and there is the realization that there is blood on one of his shoes. "-is certainly unable. It's odd then. That you're so difficult. The only real thing you've got going for you… is your cowardly nature. Chances are that I'll lose whatever fight I pick with you." His hand slowly raises and it brushes over his hair, smoothing it down. They're eyes linger… it's awfully close to his sword hilt. "Thing is, though, I find myself unable to really _give a shit_ right now."

The blade is pulled. Tiberius throws himself down and-

Kigu yells.

It stops just short of his neck.

( **Fear. Fear** … So much fear.)

Ah, so close. Just another inch and it was likely that his head would be gone. Tiberius feels himself shaking.

(It's the **fear** that binds us. Holds us down. Makes it hard to breath.)

It's not odd. To see Spice blank faced.

But there's a glaze there that shouldn't be there. It has his whole body shuddering and a shaky hitch of breath is the only sign of life. He looks… dead. On his feet. Like something crawled down his throat and tore him apart from the inside, leaving him dead and empty and- Just a husk.

(It's the **fear** that has his head in a scene from a nightmare he'd rather not see.)

Tiberius looks away.

Eyes flicker, flutter, and umber skin turns a distinctly green color. They hear a slow swallow. The attempt to not be sick. And Spice manages to power through it. Rigid, frozen in place. Forced to tough out whatever it is he's seeing- something that's not there. But is all too real.

(The Nightmare Nightmare Fruit is a rather simple one. It creates nightmares. And the more scared someone is, the more real it seems and the deeper fears it can create. Overpowered then, because if he just repeatedly uses it, he can build his own fear off of the layered nightmares. Twist new ones from the horror and adrenaline- make them so much worse. So much more _real._ )

This is why Tiberius hates Kigu.

He closes his eyes. He's lucky enough to have not been on the receiving end just yet, but- He's terrified enough by the _possibility_ of what he might see.

Kigu laughs. It's cold. And he's sure it cuts through whatever nightmare Spice is in the midst of.

"Do you really want to see this dream become reality?"

His hand drops and so does the Devil Fruit power.

The sword is still held where his neck had been but Kigu had jumped far out the range that would allow for Spice to attack. So long as he could see him, he could just put him in another nightmare before he could even take another step towards him. A long range opponent with something that couldn't exactly be dodged…

Spice didn't have the reach to beat him.

"It's not very smart of you. To come here when you're so scared. Others may not be able to see it but I always know- like I know _everything._ " He clasps his hands together and Spice swallows thickly. "You know it only makes your fears more… real. Because while those two may not be able to kill you- they can certainly kill your sisters. And, let's face it, you're too straightforward a guy to be able to defeat me. Even though you're stronger."

It sounds like it's killing him to even admit it.

"So- how about we make a deal? Since I can't kill you without the islanders throwing a little hissy fit. It's rather hard to replace that many people, especially on such a short notice, and would only serve to piss off the Celestial Dragons." Who would then, very likely, thirst for his own death. Unfortunate that it would only require the death of all their not-quite slaves.

"A… deal."

He repeats slowly. Carefully. If he tried for more than it would reveal the quiver in his voice.

(Blood. Death. Screaming. _All his fault._ )

"I'll call the Mime off and won't wipe the remaining members of your family off the earth if you never step near this factory again. Or ever oppose it. We're rather fond of creating more jobs for our workers," he smiled, "and we'd rather not have the ideas of a dead woman mucking up our factory."

The tension is thick. It could be cut with a knife.

Seconds tick and nerves get even more frayed.

Abruptly, Spice nods.

Turns on his heel and walks out without another word exchanged.

It feels rather anticlimactic in all actuality. Kigu grins.

"Oh, what are you still doing here, Tibby?"

Trying not to wet himself, Tibby thinks. "N-Nothing, nothing," is what stutters out from his place, collapsed and frozen on the floor, shaking like a leaf from head to toe, "I-It seems that my concerns were… unneeded. Just as you said." He scrambles to his feet. He- He needs to get out.

He needs to leave.

Staying here, he was terrified-

"Ooh, Tibby~!"

And he's sure Kigu can smell it.

He stops, just short of the door. Careful not to look back. He thinks if he turned around all he would see was a nightmare waiting to unfold. He waits, eyes squeezed shut, for it to start. For Kigu to take his anger out on him.

He doesn't.

"Turn off the light before you go."

Somehow he feels even more terrified. Especially when the dark corners of the room only seem to grow darker.

He walks out of the room.

In a daze.

Not knowing how much time had passed until he was deep down into the factories halls. Floors from the surface, pretending like there wasn't sweat dripping down every inch of his face. Tiberius leans up against a wall. Takes a deep couple of breaths. They feel ragged, even though they shouldn't. "...definitely not going to work…"

Spice was too scared of what might happen to his sisters to make the final push. Too scared that he might lose, make a mistake. And the people he was trying to protect would be left alone or, worse, get hurt because of him.

He pulls the many charges from his coat and sighs.

"Tch. Explosives are just way too overkill. Why is getting a good position in this factory to open up so _hard?_ "

…

…

It's gotten calmer. And, for that, she's beyond thankful. Even if she still feels the tension in her muscles beginning to bunch up beneath her skin and making her whole body ache. "Do you think… Are there any coffee shops around here?" It gets her a look thrown over Ace's shoulder, amused. It helps to ease the tension in her even further.

Especially when he scoffs at her.

Playful.

"I still don't believe you, there's no way that it's like Luffy and his meat. I just can't see it."

There's a wicked gleam that appears in her eyes and it takes everything he has in him to not comment on it.

"A-Ah, that's right! You didn't see her this morning, did you? I was starting to get…" Kat makes a face like he doesn't know exactly what to say, scratching the back of his head as he gets tongue tied. " _...worried._ "

She makes a noise. It really wasn't _that_ bad- she's seen other people who were way worse.

"I- You can't be serious." Ace's eye twitches. Giving her a once over that has her pursing lips and looking head on into it, utterly unimpressed with the action. "I'll only believe it when I see it." It was just too hard for him to imagine her going wild over something.

Her tongue clicks. "Oh, eventually, I'm sure."

They don't find a coffee shop. Then again, they're not really looking for one either. Well, she is, a little bit. Only somewhat serious about the suggestion in the first place and there didn't seem to be anything that appeared capable of making a good cup anyways. There were mostly just people's homes and the like. Nothing too… eye-catching.

Or, well, not that she really had a chance to look around in the first place. All her focus was being stolen by Ace.

Being the one thing she wasn't allowed to take her eyes off of.

"Kat."

It feels like it's the tenth time she's had to sigh his name in the last five minutes. Though it's the first time that they've actually managed to catch it in time.

"Already on it."

He's got water tossed to stop the flames that take hold on the back of someone's shirt, stream intent to snuff the fire before it got out of hand like it did for the other few that had the unfortunate luck of bumping into Ace. At the very least, it was going to be good practice for Kat, being on their crew. What with Ace just being a general fire hazard and- "Ah! It got worse?!" Kat's incredulous hout and gasp in disbelief has Quinn turning just as the hissing embers burst out into an even higher intensity compared to what they were before.

They grab Ace before he can apologize. Speed walking away from the crime scene.

"Why does this keep happening?" He muttered under his breath.

Quinn grimaces, "The hell…? Are these people covered in oil or something?"

"Chehaha, that's it, isn't it? Spice said they all worked in a factory. That's got to have a lot of flammable liquids lying around, right?"

"Tch. But with them it's almost like they've been _bathing_ in it."

But that's the first thing that's made even a semblance of sense all day so she just groans and assumes he's right. He probably is. That sounds like it's just their luck. To land on an island where the general population was flammable. Pretty par for the course actually. She was sure there were… weirder happenstances in this world.

"Just… C'mon over here. We don't need to piss off another island so they can chase us off again." At this rate, she wouldn't be surprised if they were already coming with pitchforks and- well, with them, they couldn't exactly carry torches safely but she was sure they'd find a nice alternative. "Everyone… keeps attacking my face too. It's gonna make me self-conscious because, at this point, it's almost like they have something against me…"

It receives a snort from both of them.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

And she ignores it in favor of catching Ace's elbow at the same time Kat does the other, the pair looping their arms with him in an almost practiced unison.

They can feel his confusion as he steps up to their sides.

Thankfully, he doesn't pull out of either of their grips, even as they purposely guide him to stand firmly at their sides. Letting out a chuckle as soon as he finds himself sandwiched between his two crewmates. The pair not letting anyone get within range of bumping into him and setting themselves on serious fire. It was a nice idea. Still. He raises a brow, "Aren't you two worried?"

"About the fire?"

"Uh, we're not covered head-to-toe in oil, Ace."

He's suitably sheepish.

To anyone that saw them, it would look almost as if they were protecting him- shoulder to shoulder and arms so firmly hooked together at the elbows that it would've been hard to tell who was who, if not for the green and brown skin tones differentiating him from them. Quinn felt dimly like one of those groups of high school girls that would walk through the hall in a raw, rather than a line, purposely getting in the way of everyone trying to hurry to their next class as the minutes counted down. Kat was absolutely beaming from cheek to cheek and Ace thinks that he might be cutting off circulation in his arm, he was holding on so tightly. The jumbled bunch of them are already getting looks.

And Ace doesn't care even a bit. Already unable to keep the wide smile from breaking across his face at the warmth provided by them being pressed so close on either side of him. Admittedly, it was a little weird. But he couldn't say that he honestly didn't enjoy it-

Che. Funny. The islanders thought it was to protect him but had no idea that it was actually to protect _them._

"Hey, Ace?" Quinn leant down to his ear, eyes flickering over the faces of the people around them. He hummed in response. Feeling himself twitch away on instinct. Her breath was close enough that it tickled and Kat squished closer on his other side to get a listen too. "What was that swordsman's name again?"

"Spice. Why?"

She jerks them to a sudden stop.

"I think he's left us quite the trail of breadcrumbs to follow."

"What do you- Oh, that's literal."

"Yeah…"

Ace just takes one look and laughs. "With that guy- what isn't?" He's absolutely delighted and they can feel his whole body shake with the strong bubble of laughter that's soon to come out. It takes all their balance to keep their feet as he suddenly tears forward, them holding him by the elbows suddenly feels like a terrible idea. "Hey-" He hollers. "-what's going on over here?!"

It lays before them.

A half smashed bakery. Bread strewn about in chunks and pieces, uncaringly. And a… large, _large_ man unconscious thrown through a table with bloodied teeth and a presumably broken jaw.

"...Something… _happened_ here." Quinn deadpanned airily, stating the obvious.

"Yeah, no shit."

They step over glass and broken pieces of wood and are greeted by a woman in an apron, sweeping the floor with an old broom. It didn't seem like she was making much progress in her efforts to clean up. If anything, it almost seemed like she was making it worse. The tears threatening to spill from her eyes certainly made it look as if she was coming to terms with that fact. She whipped around as soon as they approached. "I- Customers?" Seemingly startled. "I'm… I'm sorry, this place… it's a mess right now."

She goes so far as to bow in apology. Wow. That's weird.

Quinn made a face.

Even if it was more sent to Ace, being the ringleader, it still felt way more uncomfortable than she expected it to. Fortunately, they seemed just as bemused as she was. Though Ace had the decency to bow back and introduced himself, ever the polite one- well, to all but them.

"A-Ah, not customers, we really don't have much money-" Quinn raises a slow finger.

"The only thing I can offer is maybe a cup of coffee!" She shouts, still bowed and… tears streaking down her face. Very obviously not listening to any one of them, too caught up in her own emotions. "I'm so sorry! We apologize for the inconvenience."

"It's quite alright," she untangles herself from Ace and places a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Now let's talk coffee. I'll take three cups. I don't care what they have." She's never been so happy that someone wasn't listening to her!

Kat mumbles. "Just water would be great for me…"

And Ace rolls his eyes at Quinn. "I've never had coffee before. So I'll take one!"

…

…

"PPP _PFFFFFFTTTTT_ -?!"

This is it.

This is how she dies.

Not by anything actually dangerous but from the ridiculous look on Ace's face.

"What is this-?! It's disgusting!"

She's wheezing. All the coffee has gone down the wrong pipe and she's covering her face because- Holy shit. It's dripping from her nose. Oh god. It burns. "O-Oh, my- I c-can't-" She really, really can't deal with this right now. Choking and cackling all in the same breath. It's killer on her lungs but…

"Quinn?!" Her name gets long and drawn out, a bold hiss of the singular syllable; his eyes are narrowed now and he sounds just… oh, so _flabbergasted._ It has her laughter doubling and her sides aching even more. Oh, it hurts. "How can you like this crap?!"

She sputters.

Ow, ow. She was laughing harder than she had been when he failed his first fire fist attempt. It was just-

She sucks in multiple deep breaths, trying to calm herself back down. "Oh, ow- ow- _ow_ , you're just- a riot-!"

Ace doesn't respond to that comment. Too busy wiping furiously at his face. Where coffee dripped down his chin from where he'd been completely unable to swallow. The bitter taste sitting on his tongue and making his mouth taste all weird and… just gross. And Quinn had already downed her own cup-! Not even being phased by the steaming heat that should definitely be affecting her because she didn't have heat resistance like he did and- Coffee was _freaking disgusting._

She bites her lip, the smile still strains through. "It's an acquired taste. I assure you." And starts on her second cup just as Kat swallows his own peels of laughter.

He makes a face.

Oh, she's not packing it in like Luffy- he would be trying to drown himself if there was such a thing as _meat juice_ \- so it doesn't spark the same disconcerting feeling that he was sure he gave other people whenever he went to town on his own meal. Or maybe it did. And this was how other people felt watching himself eat.

He can't say that he understood. But he _understood_.

(He was used to Luffy eating everything and anything but that was _Luffy_. He didn't expect it from Quinn, who was straight laced and proper- okay. That was a lie. It was more like she was used to being forced to act polite and nice and she was trying to branch away from it.)

Quinn just seemingly took a sip from her cup, only for him to realize that it had been entirely drained in that half-a-second that it took her. It was different compared to the ravenous tearing and chewing that Luffy did- but _still_.

Ace coughs. "It's… horrible." Already pushing his cup away as far as physically possible.

"Well, seems I get to enjoy a fourth cup then." He, thankfully, hadn't spit it back into the cup when he was caught unaware by the taste. Bitter food was definitely not in his palate.

She steals it before it can reach the edge of the table and before he can really say anything. Which, she imagined, would only be a quick, "Good riddance." Honestly, he was too busy trying to hold back his gagging.

"Oh, it's not _that_ bad. Quit being dramatic." She snorts. "You spent hours last night mixing drinks that, I'm pretty sure, would kill a normal man even on a good day. Seriously. If it wasn't for the fire probably burning it off inside you or even just the hours of purging, I think you might have been dead right now. Best be careful with that."

(But who is she to talk? She's already getting dangerously close to a poisonous amount of espresso. If it wasn't for the fact that she was used to drinking such incredible amounts, her heart might actually stop.)

(Not that she was really aware of that fact.)

( _Stupid._ She stopped counting.)

Kat squawks. "Ace! I didn't realize it was that bad!"

"Don't remind me." He groaned. Looking a little green just thinking about it. Not the drinks themselves but the… reaction after. It wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't been for- It was like, once he started, he couldn't stop. The only saving grace was that it didn't have any lasting effects into the morning- like a hangover- like Quinn said it might've.

"...I think both of you have a drinking problem."

Yeah, not yet. Exactly.

"Did you hear that, Ace?" Quinn's voice suddenly cut through, a few octaves higher than its usual tone, an odd mimic of what they could only assume was supposed to be a concerned parent. "A drinking problem. We're such a bad influence. Think of the _children._ "

There's amusement flashing over his face and Kat's jaw drops. "I don't know, Quinn, I heard that it was good to teach them when they're younger. Teaches them respect when they get older."

Kat's visibly abashed. "'Kay, I'm just gonna… head out." Dramatically, he goes to take his leave but falls back down as soon as they fall into chuckles. "You two are so mean!" He whines, dropping his head to the table. It doesn't garner much more of a response but that's fine. He absently sips at his water. It feels good to be able to just watch them smile and laugh, free and open, even if one of them was dreadfully bruised.

His heart swells. Because he's a part of it.

And it's different. Compared to when they were on the ship.

Mostly because he expected them to part ways as soon as land allowed it. Not out of malice or anything like that, of course, but weren't people supposed to get sick of each other if they were stuck together for way too long? And sure, Ace had run away a little, when he snuck off to Nest, but that hadn't felt like him… taking a break from them and more a- Just a little excursion. That's all it was. It wasn't like he was sick of them at all.

That- Was a nice feeling.

"What's got you in a good mood?"

If anything, his smile just doubles in force. "Just you guys." He chirps, almost sweetly. "Being you."

They both blink. Share a look. Blush.

"You- You don't know what you're talking about…!"

"Y-Yeah, what she said."

Kat straight-up giggles at them.

There's cracking glass. It interrupts whatever direction their conversation would have been headed next because it looks like the big guy is finally waking up. The baker woman that brought them their water and coffee squeaks and rushes away, broom clutched tightly to her chest, and ends up next to their table that sits outside the bakery, trying her damndest to hide behind them. It was the only table that had been free of debris and broken shards. "Oh no, oh no," she whimpers, "and Tiberius isn't here to stop him yet!"

"Tiberius…?" Quinn mumbles in confusion.

The baker still hears it apparently. And thinks it's simple curiosity instead of recognition.

"He's supposed to be his retainer! Escher goes wild if he doesn't have someone to calm him down. Tiberius is the only one who figured out how to without resorting to violence!"

"Ooh?" Ace leans back in his seat, feet kicked up on the table. He's just staring. More curious than anything. And they all watch as Escher picks himself off the ground, bloodied face groaning. He doesn't seem all that aware of himself at the moment. Definite concussion. He's not looking too good- not, hah, that any of them thought he would have looked good _before_. At least the blood helped to cover up some things. "He seems confused."

"Maybe it's his natural state of mind."

"Quinn, that's mean! And he might hear you."

"No, no, she's right," the baker stops Kat's worried hiss in its tracks, "that's pretty accurate, all things considered."

"Ehhh?"

Ah, they really should stop dissing people. They're going to do it to the wrong person one of these days.

Fortunately, that doesn't seem to be Escher.

Who doesn't look like he's aware enough to hear them at all actually.

The baker begins to quietly beg under her breath, and Ace is all but ready to take the guy back out if he so much as looks in her direction. She'd given them food after all- even if it was just shitty coffee. "Please don't destroy the shop… please don't destroy the shop… we can't afford to fix it as is, please don't destroy it anymore…!"

Escher roars.

Like, literally roars.

They raise unimpressed brows. Or, at least, Ace and Quinn do. Kat just feels himself shiver. He doesn't know whether to be concerned or not. Apparently he doesn't have to because Escher just continues to roar, even as he steps out the bakery's broken window and rushes away. Vaguely, they think they hear him shout, "Spice, I'll kill you!" But, really, it could've been anything.

"Oh no," the baker moaned, twisting the handle of her broom nervously in her fists, "I hope nothing bad happens because he helped us out…"

"So it _was_ Spice that beat that guy up."

"Do people on this island not like him or something? People seemed like they were going out of their way to avoid him earlier."

"Huh? What do you mean?" The baker seemed horrified by just the thought. "No! Spice is- Him and his family are some of the most beloved members of this island. I don't know why people would be avoiding him!"

"They were all giving him a wide berth earlier, like they were scared."

She looked like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Maybe she couldn't. Her jaw dropped. "Scared…? I- I mean, he's strong but they…" They watch as she blinks suddenly and her mouth forms an 'O'. "I know what you're talking about! It's just the opposite. People don't bump into him because that's rude-!"

Ace gives a bemused smile. "They do it to me more often than not."

She blushes. "-Y-Yes, well. They don't care about you like they do Spice."

Quinn hums an empty tune into the hollowness of her cup. "What'd they do to become so… beloved?" She hoped Salt was just the bad apple because if they were anything like her then it was hopeless to imagine it. "I mean, the _whole_ family?"

"I guess it all started with their mother. She was a lovely woman and the best chef in the entire world, I still remember the taste of her food…" She sucks in a slip of drool and quickly wipes her face, looking decidedly embarrassed. "She was from Nest before the insects all got dropped on the island. She was a kid when she went out to sea and- I believe that she worked as a chef for the Marines for awhile. She collected ingredients and tools of the trade from all across the world and then came back and shared it with the people of Hunting. We- Starving had been struck by a famine and we were soon to be next, but she put a stop to it by teaching us how to gather our own food from the land."

"The… _dog_?"

"Oh, you know about that?"

The baker laughs. It sounds like she's trying not to wince at the same time.

"No, that's just… Poor Pepper was too young to rationalize her death and I suppose that it's gotten to a point where everyone is too afraid to say anything. We don't want to break her heart."

Quinn scowls. "Isn't it more cruel to let her keep living a lie?"

"I-I suppose. But… it's not really our place. We're waiting for Spice or Cinnamon to find a way to break it to her." She shakes her head and then points to where Escher had run off. "And- Well, you saw him. Spice helps protect us from those in-charge at the factory… they have a habit of getting violent. And the Captain has a Devil Fruit! We couldn't hope to defend ourselves."

She felt Kat lean into her side, automatically wrapping her arm around his shoulders. He was certainly feeling like he was defenseless too. Especially after his run in with them. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of Devil Fruit could make the Captain more threatening than the Mime.

"B-But Cinnamon and Salt help around the island a bunch too!" The broom is being squeezed, like she wants to hug it, as she speaks. "Cinnamon feeds anybody that doesn't have enough food with what Spice hunts on Nest. A-And Salt is good with tools so she helps fix anything that's broken or mechanical, she's really good at it! Also… Pepper did my hair the other day and I think it came out really cute…"

"I- Okay, okay, you don't need to defend them or anything. We were just curious."

She huffs and nods.

She'd been getting quite passionate and mutters loosely under her breath, "Of anyone on this island it's Tiberius that people don't like…"

Quinn jumps in on that train of thought. "You mentioned him before. What's up with him? Kat and I met him earlier but he ran away. For no reason." She adds that last part really quick. As an afterthought. If the baker notices the tension in her voice she doesn't say anything.

Instead, she snorts. "That sounds like him. He used to be a respected member of the community. He was a herbalist and he made just the best teas…" She looked almost wistful. "You know, he used to meet with Spice's mother every week for tea. Well. Back before the factory. They argued a lot over it's implementation but then- She started to get sick and they had one big argument and stopped meeting after that. I think by that point their friendship was unsalvageable. And they made such a good pair too…"

She shakes her head. Blushes.

"S-Sorry, I went off on a tangent there, didn't I?" And perks suddenly, adjusting her broom. "I- You're all friends with Spice then? I'm sorry but I'm afraid that I don't recognize any of you."

"We're pi-"

"They came from the other Isle."

They look back as the baker squeaks in surprise.

It's Spice.

Looking down at them with cool eyes.

"Oh! Spice! Let me go get you some coffee and some of our leftover bread as thanks! We would've lost the whole bakery if you hadn't come when you did," the baker rushes off without another word tossed their way. Spice doesn't remove his eyes from them.

They sit in silence. Just sizing one another up.

Until:

"So what are you exactly?" Quinn asks after a quick swallow, brow raised. Spice doesn't seem to know how to take her question. Which is fine, because Ace is all too ready to jump in with his own declaration.

"He's going to be our new crewmember!"

"Aah, really?"

"No, I'm-"

Kat looks so excited that it almost looks like he's about to jump out of her skin. "Welcome to the crew!" He all but chirps, grin splitting over his face. "I know we had a bit of a rough start earlier but I'm sure it'll be okay. You're the first crewmember that I actually get to see join!"

Spice stares.

Turns to Quinn.

She's got a grin quirked over her face and he- Spice has three sisters. He could spot that mischievous glint from miles away. "Incited this on purpose, didn't you?"

"Maybe."

It's the mirth that dances in her eyes that makes him sigh.

"...How kind. I see that you're just all about first impressions." Then again, his weren't exactly any better. Spice halted Kat's joy in it's track with a deadpan and completely insincere, "My apologies. But I'm not going to join your crew." Whatever reaction he was expecting, he didn't get. Because, instead, all it did was have Kat looking confused and Quinn hiding her- growing even wider- grin behind the brim of her cup. She could almost hear the words in her head as she glanced between him and Ace- _'Are you sure about that?'_

"We've certainly got space for one more."

Total. Complete. Lie.

They barely had space for the three of them as is.

Not to mention their boat was falling about.

Quinn let out a huff through her nose. They really needed to find better, more reliant means of transportation.

Unfortunate, in that aspect, that Ace looked to be growing even more and more determined by the second. The more Spice tried to pull away the more polarized of an attitude he got. It really wasn't conducive to ending the beginning of the argument at hand. "If it's your family, then just talk to them. I'm sure they'll understand if you want to come. Cinnamon seemed reasonable!" Besides, Quinn knew that look in his eyes. It was a strange one- like a kid looking through the window of a candy store he was about to rob. (Maybe not the most… apt description but it worked.) It was getting more and more recognizable the more she saw it. Considering that she's only seen it twice though-

Well. It's stronger.

He'd looked at her, like that, when they were running from Garp. And, then again, when Kat was fighting The Beast.

...Ugh.

Did that mean that trouble was afoot as well?

She'd be willing to bet on it.

"That is based on the assumption that I would even _want_ to."

"Don't you?"

The lack of answer was extremely telling.

But Spice remained undeterred. "If you think that I would abandon my family for a silly group of pirates…" His lips thinned and his eyes narrowed. "Then you are not a Captain I would want to be under."

Quinn and Kat both winced.

Harsh.

And Quinn felt something like annoyance pierce through her. "Are you insulting my Captain…?" She growled. And, oh, he could cut her head off in a flat second, she was sure. But that didn't really seem like it mattered. Spice met her glare head on, his own carefully blank. "You should watch that attitude of yours."

A warm hand on her shoulder stops her short of doing anything.

Ace's expression fell unreadable. Or something close to it at least. If Quinn leaned forward and searched his gaze she could spot a hint of… understanding, there. Like he got where Spice was coming from. But also a heavier amount of annoyance. He understood, but he didn't like it. Not one bit.

And normally such a snappy tone would've gotten him more riled up then he actually was at the moment.

(Silly? They weren't _silly._ And he'd never _force_ anyone away from their family, not in a million years. Not if he could help it.)

But there was also something weird. Because even knowing Spice for as short a time as he had, the clipped response didn't _sound_ natural coming from him.

He was upset. Not at them though.

"Something happened."

It's not a question.

Even if it was, Spice wouldn't have answered.

Quinn takes a long, slow slip from her third cup. It burns. Though it _does_ help to take away from the uneasy feeling starting to fester in the pit of her stomach. She was right. There _was_ trouble afoot. And Ace was about to get them caught up in the center of it, wasn't he? Keh. That was assuming that he hadn't already. Quinn takes another sip. Doesn't say anything, even though she wants to. Well, she also wants to bash her head against the table because she really, really, really wanted today to just _end_ already.

Kat shivers against Quinn's side and she offers a comforting squeeze, feeling his hands tighten around her waist. She had a feeling his mind went where hers did. To the Mime. Who was still out there. Though, hopefully, still on Starving.

Maybe if they left soon they wouldn't have the chance to run back into him…

"As I said. I won't be joining your crew."

He turns on his heel and begins to walk the way they just came from. He's headed back home.

"Hey," Ace calls, "Wait up-!"

Quinn tries to stop him. "Honestly, just let him go. We can find someone else." If he was going to insult Ace in their second meeting then she didn't really want him to join. "We don't need someone playing hard to get with us."

"No way! Spice is going to be our chef," he tugs himself free, his eyes are on fire, (though not literally), "I just need to convince him and his family that he should join us. I can do it. I know it."

"I'm sure that you can, but-" Ah. He's running off. "-is it worth it? Damn it. _Ace!_ No means no! Just listen to the guy-"

Oh, wow. Kat chugs the last bit of water in his glass as Quinn follows after. He doesn't think he can run right now. He stands up and- "Urk-!" Even the suddenness of that action had his ribs aching and him clutching his sides, trying to keep his groan down. "Aw, c'mon guys, wait for me."

He's stopped before he can take more than a single step.

"H-Hey, where'd Spice go?" It's the baker. Looking confused. "Did he head back home already? I- I wanted to give him a thank you gift. I k-know it's not a lot but…"

Kat feels bad for her. She looks like she's about to start tearing up again. "Um- Miss Baker, I can take it to him. They all went to his home. I think I remember the way." It has her brightening.

"R-Really? Thank you so much!"

And that's how he found himself with a basket of bread, limping down the street after his friends. Trying to remember the direction that the house was located. It was strangely nice. It-

His face was free to be seen by all but, aside from a few odd looks here and there, nobody made a comment on his green spotted skin or gils.

It was the first time since he was a child on Fishman Island that he could walk freely and without jeers being tossed his way. And it… made his heart swell. Because- Was this what it felt like to be normal? It was an impossibly uplifting feeling. There was even an old lady that he asked for directions to Spice's house and gave him a lollipop once she realized that he was delivering a gift for someone. "Such a nice young man!"

Nothing could stop the happiness in his chest.

Well. That is.

Until it did.

"... _W... Wh_ at happened…?"

Because the house was demolished.

And smoke was drifting up into the sky.

There wasn't anyone in sight. Not from what they could see. It was like everyone had cleared out as soon as they spotted trouble. And, dimly, Kat realized that the little girl's things were strewn about and there was blood dripping on a piece of wall that somehow remained standing in the midst of all the destruction.

Quinn shook her head as he opened her mouth. But he didn't even know what he would've said.

Spice had collapsed to his knees in front of it and… Kat swallowed as Ace stepped up to the swordsman's side. The rage in his voice, thick with contempt, face shadowed by his faded hat, "It's that guy, right… The one you went to see. He's been threatening your family, that's why you can't leave." It doesn't come out like a question. "If I take him out, you won't have to worry about them anymore-!"


	15. Twin Isle: Hunting Chang III: Battles and Defeat! The Factory Burns and Guilt Begins To Gnaw!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: panic attacks, PTSD hints, multiple deaths of varying levels of description, and a dog gets hurt briefly. 
> 
> Oof, oof. Sorry for the lateness of this chapter but I really wanted to get this island done and it ended up being the longest chapter yet. (Over 50k and I had estimated 35k-) To apologize for that, there's multiple pictures at the end and in-text! With color and character designs for Kat, Spice, Cinnamon, Salt, Roddie, and Jones! And to say sorry for the sad things in this chapter :/ only like, one thing in that mess was planned, but things just kept moving and so there's more now.

Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't be opposed to the idea of letting the fight run its course. There was more than enough reason for Ace to kick the shit out of someone and, honestly, she probably wouldn't care if there _wasn't_ a good reason. So long as she wasn't likely to get caught up in it, of course. Unfortunately, as much as she could probably sit this one out, she also didn't want Ace to run them all to an early death.

Well, earlier than what it should be. He still had three years left at least.

But, at this rate, with how much she didn't know she was changing, she didn't want his reckless ass getting himself killed on her watch.

"Wait, Ace-"

He doesn't stop. Already turned on his heel and running off without a serious thought to things like-

Uh, that thing called _consequences?_ Yes, those exist.

Please start thinking about them Ace!

Unfortunately, he's too busy practicing the time-honored tradition of ignoring the _one_ person able to keep their head on their shoulders.

Quinn grits her teeth.

_"Captain."_

Ooh, she needs to remember that tone because it has him screeching to a halt. Even as pissed, antsy, and impatient as he looked he still had the sense and presence of mind to listen if it sounded serious. And what better way to remind him than to acknowledge his position?

Or, maybe, it had more to do with the fact that it was already rare of her to bring attention to his title, and it had him more surprised than anything. The seriousness only partly registered. Enough to keep him, at the very least, listening to see where she'd be going with it.

(Or maybe he just liked the sound of it. There was that.)

It didn't really matter.

Because Quinn was too busy scowling at him, eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "Have you forgotten yesterday-?" She gestures to her face. "There's a reason I have these bruises. And it wasn't so we could have the Marines jumping on us in the name of _probably_ incestuous nobility. Because, as much as we are pirates, we're going to need a lot more than three people if we think we can handle one of this world's highest forces being pissed off at us. Even if they are, admittedly, also the most pathetic."

"It's just one guy, they won't care-"

"Of course they will," she snaps, "you aren't _naïve_. Don't act like it."

He's more taken aback than insulted (even if it's mildly still clear on his face that he's feeling that too) and before he can open his big mouth she quickly continues with her train of thought, completely steamrolling whatever it was he was going to say.

She knows that he knows what the World Nobles are like- and what they're capable of. The Grey Terminal Fire, the "death" of Sabo, the complete slaughter of poor people just for the effort of making a good impression… He's aware of that. But something's screaming at Quinn that he hasn't quite grasped that Goa Kingdom was not an outlier or an exception-

 _Every_ island had the potential for the same brutality on a whim. Goa Kingdom was only more likely. (It's unfortunate that people don't forget the trauma. But they could forget the _anger._ And that led to too many rash decisions and endless problems when it rose again- 'cause rage was a fuel that only burned for so long and often petered out before it could get to the finish line.) And it's looking like Ace is needing a reminder of what could _very well happen_ if they let anger push them forward.

Especially with freaking _World Nobles_. Whom she'd rather not _ever_ meet.

Quinn wasn't about to take a chance when he _already_ had a target they wouldn't be able to handle just waiting to be painted on his back if someone had loose lips.

"It's not the pissant they'll care about. It's the fact that some no-name, pirate _scum_ -" There's a twitch from both Ace and Kat but it does help to get her point across. "-from the East Blue dared to insult their precious spices or get in the way of its production. Frankly, I'm surprised this place hasn't been overhauled into a major slaving ground, because I didn't think they'd have the decency to _not_ put everyone in chains."

Briefly, she runs a hand through her hair and mutters, "Then again, maybe they just believe the East Blue is too beneath them. Being considered the weakest sea. Probably didn't want to put the money into it, especially since it would also require an endorsement into the Marines because their presence is already so minimal here… Not only that but it's probably an attempt at not pissing off Dragon even more than he already is, since Sengoku would know that he's from this sea and…" She trails off and notices the blank look on Ace's face and the wide eyed, stricken looks on both Kat and Spices.

She's not sure whether it's because she mentioned slavery in this area or because of what she said about Dragon, suddenly caught by the fact that _she should not know any of that._

Quinn grimaces. Bad, bad, bad. She should've said that in her head or not at all. "As I was saying," time to act like she hadn't said anything out of the ordinary, "I wouldn't be surprised if one of the factory's invocations is to monitor the people and kill or enslave anyone who says something bad about the World Nobles. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a crime punishable by death if you did it literally anywhere. And what's worse than actively destroying something that's considered theirs? That factory is a proven fire hazard- just look at the people you've been bumping into, they definitely don't follow the safety requirements of working with flammable materials -it'll go up like a light if you use your fire in the wrong place. And, as much as I would love to see it burn, unless we have a sure-fire way of keeping our faces off the residential arson-list we'd just be painting a massive target on our back."

Wow. She's feeling her lungs wheeze a little in protest as she managed to somehow get all that out in one breath while still maintaining her seriousness.

"One that, at the moment, we will _not_ be able to handle."

Begrudgingly, it does get Ace to turn back around, but he lets out a low huff that sounds oddly close to a tiger getting ready to strike. "So what do you suggest we do then? Run with our tail between our legs?" Yeah, definitely not happy. She'd go so far as to describe it as pissy even.

Well, not like she can't understand why.

Whatever he expects from her, he doesn't get. Because Quinn barely hides the fact that she's rolling her eyes at him-

("Hey!")

-and turns to Spice, arms crossing over her chest. "Spice. Revenge or running." Maybe she should be giving him a second to come to terms with the fact that his family may or may not be… dead. But she has a feeling that _someone_ will get impatient if they don't get this show on the road. "I'm not going to have us bail you out of making an actual decision here. They're your family and your responsibility."

Something about that last word has him twitching out of his stupor.

"H-Hey, Quinn, shouldn't we give him a second. I-I mean, his family is-"

"No one is confirmed dead. There are no bodies. Not only that but…" She's flying by the seat of her pants at the moment and if it wasn't for her carefully crafted blank face they would all be able to see her internally panicking. Legitimately just screaming at herself for even saying anything because Quinn really-

Really-

Doesn't know what she's doing.

_Aah, crime scene investigation shows, don't fail me now!_

(She's pretty sure Ace can smell bullshit a mile away, so it's a good thing that she's ready to pull through on this no matter what. Or… is also prepared to straight up backtrack if needs be.)

"The blood. If someone actually died, there would be a corpse." Oh, there's plenty of things just waiting to pop up and contradict her statement, but, well, so long as she makes it make sense, it'll be alright, right? Quinn walks past Spice- careful not to spare a glance his way because she's certain he'll be able to spot her nerves if he gets even the slightest chance- and hops over the broken pieces of wood, vaguely aware of the eyes burning on her back. "It's also smeared on the ground. Like someone dragged them away." Which, really, could be indicative of multiple things but- well.

She's looking for excuses.

And the more she searches the more she finds and she starts to feel a pool of confidence bolstering her words settling in. Really, the burst of credence had her suddenly thinking straight, and now she could tell there was something _incredibly obvious_ about the whole scene.

"This window is also broken. Outwards. Everything else is broken inwards and what's been destroyed is _on top_ of the broken glass from the window."

Ace and Spice are looking at her with utterly flabbergasted and uncomprehending expressions. Kat is the one that gapes as understanding quickly dawns on him. It takes everything she has in her to not puff up in pride as Kat struggles to untie his tongue and puts his head to work. Following her thought process. "The attacker was outside when he destroyed the house." Kehehe- yes, _yes_! The fellow resident "smart-one" was there to back her up. "M-Meaning…"

He trails off as she steps back over to them and she quickly picks up. "Meaning that, unless whoever did this walked into the house just to punch this one window out and then walked back outside to wreck the place," she's purposely making it sound ridiculous to further convince them of her story, which she's starting to believe with every bit of information that has her figuring out where to go next, "then the people inside, most likely, escaped through this window sometime around the _beginning_ of the attack."

"So- then, they're alive!"

And- it would be cruel to _not_ say otherwise, as sure as she is that she's right, she doesn't exactly want to start being cruel right now -not by giving a false hope. Not even with as much as she believes her own theory. "Can't confirm or deny it. But it's looking more and more plausible."

"...So we don't know anything." Ace is looking miffed. "We're back at square one."

"No, Ace. We're…" She sighs and runs a hand through her hair. "We know that they had the presence of mind to try to escape and could be, I don't know, hiding. Right now. That's a big step up from being presumed dead, I would say." Quinn just wants them to think logically for a bit because she'd rather not jump to conclusions. "It does help Spice make an informed decision. Because they could-"

"What does it matter?"

Quinn shuts her mouth.

Just as the man in question interrupts.

And that… It would normally sound like a question asked out of hopelessness. On paper, it certainly did. A defeatist attitude brought on by grief and a lack of hope. Of simply giving up on it all.

(Because, sometimes, that was easier. She would know.)

It was anything but.

"Pretty words won't help." She bristles. "It doesn't remove the fact that, alive or dead, my family was attacked. That one of those factory trio did this." His eyes spark with rage and the contempt dripping from his voice is as sharp as his blade. "Whether by order or not, they've taken it too far this time… They're too much of a risk to be allowed to stay alive."

"My _pretty words_ will remind you that anything you provoke from the factory will likely fall back on you in the long run."

It's the closest thing to a scowl that he's willing to get to.

"I don't have time for what-ifs."

"Well, I do. Luck is full of them," she flashes a golden hand at him, it disappears like a flicker, "and it doesn't often go my way."

Ace saves the conversation by recognizing what she's getting at but is slightly too irked by Spice's dismissal to say, "We need to figure out a plan."

Her hum confirms it. "At the very least, an order of operations."

"That's _easy._ "

Well, he's got everyone's attention now.

"There's only three things that need to happen."

Then, by all means, enlighten.

-0-

"I'm not going to apologize."

"I didn't say you had to."

"...But you're implying that I should."

"I'm not responsible for what I imply."

"You- You agree with me, though, right? That the dog- That Pepper needs to stop." Her cheeks feel clammy with tears still struggling to dry. And she's too afraid of accidentally jostling her arm to move to wipe them off. "You do, don't you?"

If she does, Cinnamon doesn't say it out loud.

Sometimes she hated that her sister rarely committed to a proper answer.

"Just because I want the same end goal doesn't mean I agree with the way you went about it."

She licks her lips because they feel hopelessly dry. Like her entire body has become dehydrated. With all the tears she's shed over the last few days, maybe she has. "...Well, you weren't going to do anything about it…"

Cinnamon sighs. "Because she's _six_." But Salt knows that's just an excuse. "And she could very well grow out of it within a year."

"Or she could grow out of it _now_."

"If we force her."

"Right!"

"And then we tell her, what?" Salt leans away from the raised brow and the irritated look she gets. "Congratulations. The dog you've been using for comfort isn't actually as comforting as you first thought. You've been convinced of a lie for the majority of your life now. And your mother- whom you love and trust- lied to you with her dying breath and she's gone now. Forever." Salt flushes red hot. "Yeah, _real_ helpful to our already shitty situation."

"T-That's n-not-"

"You know Salt, sometimes it's better to let people figure things out for themselves. You don't have to… try and fix them like you do with everything else. People don't come with manuals."

She snaps her mouth shut.

And, even though she's in an intense amount of pain, somehow those words hurt even more than her arm does.

(Which is saying something because Cinnamon touches her shoulder and sends her into painful shrieking. "Yeah, that's gonna need a lot of ice. I'll go make a pack and… see if we have any leftover pain killers."

They _won't._

But Cinnamon didn't think it would hurt to check, even if she knew she wouldn't find anything. It helped her feel like she might be able to provide more than just… words of comfort.

Which never seemed to go very far these days.)

Salt curls against the wall and threads her uninjured arm under her knees, pulling them close enough that she could rest her chin between them. The intense aching was starting to subside under the strain of her own inner turmoil. And, when Cinnamon comes back in, beaded hair pulled up by a scrunchy, pretending not to notice the hard look on her sister's face- even as she presses the cloth-made ice pack to her shoulder- she barely twitches against the cold.

"How's it feeling?"

"...Not _worse."_

It was hard to get worse than this. She thinks.

Cinnamon just huffs, "Why did you go off to Starving?"

"...I…" she droops, the memory of the snail attempting to connect to something, _anything,_ playing over and over in her mind, "...I don't even know anymore…"

And neither really know what to say after that.

There didn't seem to be much in the air between them, other than disappointment.

If Cinnamon listened, she could hear Pepper's crying in the other room. Not, admittedly, an unfamiliar sound but- but she didn't know what to do.

(It's hard playing the mother when she can't bring herself to accept the position. She was just… so tired. So unprepared. She wasn't prepared to fill such a role and now she doesn't know if she ever would even want to be.)

She sighed.

"Look… I'm not saying I'm right or anything like that. Maybe I'm completely wrong." Situations like these- arguing over the ethicacy- they could run in circles for days if they let themselves. And she was too tired to let the thoughts swirl. Much, _much_ too tired.

Cinnamon somehow finds it somewhere within herself to stand and not immediately walk out of the room. It was growing harder and harder by the day to watch the sorrow festering over her sisters like some-sort of tumor. Always coming back and ending in disaster.

"But I don't think you're _right_ either."

She rubs her temples. Soothed slightly by the cold temperature the ice had left her fingertips. She could feel the headache coming on from a mile away and, wow, it was not going to be an easy one. "At the very least, if we really, _really_ have to tell her-" Because, while it's been eating at her, it seems like it's starting to _devour_ Salt. "-we should go about it in a sensitive and calm manner. Not… over-emotional anger. It's really- _Auh!"_

The yelp is torn from her lips more out of surprise than anything else.

"Cin?"

It's with a surprising amount of reflexes that she manages to catch the cabinet that comes toppling forward unexpectedly.

"I got it. I got it."

The sound of shattering dishware on the inside is not… exactly music to their ears.

Salt winces. But it's not the worst thing. She'd rather not have her sister crushed by splintering wood- Speaking of which, Cinnamon looks a little rattled, trying to ease the cabinet back into place. "Geez. A leg must've broken or something…"

It made her heart just about jump out of her chest but all Salt can respond with is an irritated huff. Already going back to ignoring the world except…

Except she couldn't help a small thought.

"Honestly, it's a good thing that your back. We're all terrible at fixin' things and-"

She's not listening.

Because Salt had looked into all their cabinets and appliances when one of them broke a year ago and had personally fixed anything that was loose, broken, or just… didn't look right. And that cabinet was easily one of the more trustworthy ones. It's why it was heavier and held dishes that were much more liable to break.

It shouldn't have fallen. Not as a result of a broken leg at least. But the only thing she could think of that might've caused it to fall was-

There's a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Like something bad was going to happen.

"...it's like something forced it to fall over…"

"Huh?"

Salt's arm chose that moment to ache terribly. "Shit-!" And, as if on cue with the throbbing reminder, the stack of plates that had built up in the sink, as a result of feeding Ace, fell over in a crashing heap. Scattering across the ground. They both winced. "The… hell?"

Cinnamon pushed the cabinet back up. Or, at least, she attempted to. Struggling against the doors which wanted nothing more than to come open, the broken contents pushing up against them and, almost as soon as she tried to step away, whatever it was that knocked it over came back with a vengeance. And Cin, well, she just barely managed to keep the doors from opening up behind her, everything threatening to come crashing out. All at once, in a pile of broken shards.

"Is it a frickin' earthquake- what the _hell-?_!"

If only they would be so lucky.

(Like a line of dominos, the problems just kept falling right after the other, didn't they?)

Because Pepper lets out a startling scream from the other room and it's half a second later that the dog starts barking. _"T-There was someone in the w-window-!"_ Her voice cracked as it reached such a high pitched octave it was almost hard to tell what she was saying, words shaky and wobbly with tears. "It w-was- It was one of the ba- bad men-!" The barking increases and suddenly Pepper screams again as the building seems to shake.

_Shit._

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit-

"Which one?!"

She comes stumbling out of the room.

It's a question of what they're dealing with and it has Salt's heart beating against her rib cage. As if it was trying to jump out of her body and escape. And, if she thought she was all out of adrenaline for the day then she was sorely mistaken, because every tiny bit of fear that she'd _thought_ she'd become tired of feeling comes back in full force- hitting her all at once and leaving her trembling. Fingers moist and arm shaking, sweaty with the heat of her sling and-

Salt bites down on the inside of her cheek, dropping the ice pack. For some reason, it felt as if she could hardly hold onto it anymore. The ice inside turning slick and melting through the cloth, the shaking of her hands turning it into a squishy pack that was just getting harder and harder to hold onto.

If it was the Mime again… S-She didn't know what to do.

The thought of impossibly long arms and legs, hands ready to crush and snap and break and-

The thought of silence… it was just- _too much._

And she-

"Salt, you're hyperventilating, calm down."

Cinnamon's voice cuts through like a knife. The incessant barking and the ringing in her head all becomes dulled in response; it's still filled with tension and a low, pained hiss, tinged by her own fear, but it's enough to have her sucking in a deep breath. The light headed feeling disappearing in waves of discomfort. She was… She was about to make herself pass out.

"I…" She swallows, lump in her throat. "Sorry."

Pepper's whimpering and wailing helps to draw her out of her head. And Salt watches as her younger sister pulls the dog by the collar in an effort to pull her back. It strikes Salt then that this is the first time she's ever seen the old biddy angry and- and it was- it was a _shocking_ sight.

Snarling, froth and drool dripped from jaws pulled taut, the floor wet with puddles from her mouth; striations of tense muscles on the dogs snout contorted the normally calm and serene features that their dog often had. The image of growling, hair standing on end, and Pepper struggling to drag the dog away- all her strength went to just to keep herself on the ground, much less actually succeed in controlling the dog- the only contact it even had with the floor were with it's back legs. And, even then, claws dug and pushed and seemingly waited to propel itself forward to attack.

Pepper sobs, though now Salt thinks it has something to do with the strain of her hands on the dog's collar than just because of the looming threat. "I-It's the big one! You know, the _big-big_ one-!"

And it's not exactly relief that fills her. No, of course not, but Salt's fear changes to a different sort.

One that's… not quite lessened in intensity but much more manageable.

"If it's that one…" Cinnamon grimaces as Salt feels her teeth break the skin of her inner cheek, the taste of copper blooming in her mouth. "Then is he- is he _shaking_ the house-?!"

Escher had always been too big and too strong. An unfortunate package all rolled into one.

There comes a roar from outside and Pepper shrieks as the walls shake and dust lifts into the air.

And, well, if that doesn't confirm Cinnamon's theory, she didn't know what else would. Other than going outside and staring him in the face as he does it.

"Pep-" Cin went to wave her over but grunted when the cabinet on her back faltered dangerously to the side, getting awfully close to tipping over onto Salt's head. She groans and finally shoves the cabinet the other way, giving up on holding it up; it falls with a loud crash and they both hold back a wince, everything inside of it… was definitely broken now. "Pep-" Cinnamon just shook her head and moved on. "Over here." Yanking the dog by the collar to pull them back and out of Pepper's hands. "Calm down." They fall into a low crouch at that, thankfully not trying to run off and attack like they assumed she would, what with its borderline apocalyptic look; still a growling and snarling mess though.

Pepper whines. "I-I-I don-don't know what's go-going on-"

"Sh- sh- it's okay, we're okay. We can figure this out."

It doesn't help much but Pepper's sobs start to dissolve into hiccups and she gained that deep, stuttering sucking in of breath that happened when people tried desperately to force themselves to stop crying.

Numbly, Salt can't help but wonder if her tears are born of fear or leftovers as a result of Salt's own participation in stringing her emotions along-

"C'mon, it's okay. Trust me." Cinnamon attempts to soothe. "We'll be okay."

Times like these always seemed to remind her that Cinnamon was the only one of them with a firm head on her shoulders. Able to push past fear and emotions with a calm attitude that was often more infuriating than helpful.

(Spice was prone to lashing out, Pepper to crying, Salt to rage, but Cinnamon was-)

"We just have to get out of here without him noticing. Then we'll all be okay-"

It's necessary to remember that things rarely went Salt's way. And, subsequently, also rarely went her sisters' way.

(Huh. Maybe there's a reason she was so quick to feel her face heat and her blood curdle.)

It's with a resounding _boom-_ one that's quickly followed by the intense sound of creaking wood as a trembling shake racked through the house- as if it was shivering in fear itself- that a board gives way from the ceiling and catches Cinnamon on the temple. The blood itself is relatively minor but the force of the blow has her collapsing back, feet catching on one another, and Salt yelping at the sight of her elder sister busting the back of her head open against the wall behind her. Leaving her feeling sick at the image of blood smearing as she slumps. Not unconscious, thankfully, but left blurry eyed and completely out of it.

For once, there is no rage.

Instead, all Salt wants to do is curl up and cry.

She would've preferred the anger. Almost. "I'm so- so- sorry- this is all m-my fault- I'm _s_ o- _sorry-!"_ The sobs have her voice breaking and her throat feeling like it'd gone through a blender. But she can't really help it. So overcome, "I'm s-s-" It becomes too hard to form words properly anymore.

So she gags.

It's not a good reaction, she knows. But she doesn't know what _to do-!_

Pepper's hiccups become muted and she wheezes out thick coughs. "C-C-Cin- Cin- A-Are you-?!"

And they don't know… quite what happens next.

It's hard to see. What with tears blurring their vision and the house falling apart around them. But Cinnamon- groaning, unable to really control her limbs at the moment- managed to whimper out a small plea for help and, as if in understanding, the dog whipped around and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. Dragging her across the floor and back over towards them. A good thing too, as the weaker walls of the home and the other cabinets and items in the room all began to come crashing down as another great shake shivered throughout the house. Leaving even more splintering wood amongst the scattered porcelain.

There's a smashing of a window. And Salt thinks that it was Cinnamon that had managed to break it, showering them with a small amount of glass, the broken noise blending in with all the rest of the destruction.

"Go, _go, go_ -"

The dog, seeing the opening, continued to drag Cinnamon by the collar- helping to pull her out through the window until she was half laid out on its back. Trudging along, even as her own paws were pierced by the broken glass on the ground outside the window, and watching as Salt jumped out, cradling a half thrashing Pepper to her chest. Her shoes hitting the glass uncomfortably and- she winced. She could feel them pierce her soles and get frighteningly and uncomfortably close to completely cutting through the rubber.

"B-But- all our things- that's our home-!"

"Ignore it!" Salt hissed to Pepper, trying to keep the barefooted girl above and away from the glass covered ground. It's made all the more hard with only one arm of use and, as she shifted, Salt nearly screamed out in pain as her damaged shoulder got jostled. A furious order of "Be Quiet!" already jumping to her lips.

And- And-

Escher roars.

It's something unintelligible, which is fair, given who they're dealing with. They didn't expect to understand what had him so pissed off.

(Though something tells Cinnamon that she's going to have to have a word or two with her brother the next time she sees him.)

"HOW'S THAT-" He howls. "-I'LL DESTROY IT ALL! _SPICE!"_

(Yes, definitely a _word.)_

They try not to think about the building collapsing behind them. Or, well, Salt and Cin try not to. Pepper rubs at her eyes and whimpers, unable to bear the sight of wood breaking and dust billowing up into the air from the remains. Their family home of memories… all gone. So quickly, so simply, so easily.

And Pepper can only force her lips into a thin, almost painful line at the order of: _"Quiet…!"_

They can't see him as they scurry away. The dust lingers in the air, just high enough that all they can see is his large shadow. And they hope beyond all hope, desperately, that the destruction of their home is enough to keep him distracted. That the wall they'd been leaning against, which somehow still remains- though only just barely- is enough to keep them hidden from view. Just enough to keep them blocked from sight.

Unfortunate, then, that Escher is a large, large man.

Because all it takes to see them is for him to straighten up to his full height.

"THERE YOU ARE!"

Oh, the arm gets jostled again, Salt is beginning to sense a pattern here, but the scream is more from terror than anything else.

"Where." He picks up a beam of wood that was once their ceiling. "Do you." Raises it over his head. "Think you're going?!" And flings it their way.

"Move! This way!"

They run.

Despite the pain and the glass. And they're lucky that it's Escher and not the Mime because, if it was the Mime, they'd already be dead. Instead, the beam is launched over their heads, just narrowly missing their bent forms, and- He's a lumbering figure, dragged down by his own weight, slow and not at all able to keep up with them as they tear through the streets. Not _completely_ aware of where they were going.

Just desperate to get away.

_"Hurry!"_

At least it causes such a commotion that the streets, which had presumably started to empty around the same time that Escher began attacking their house, were overrun, suddenly, with people scrambling to get out of the way. Allowing the sisters to get swept into the crowd unnoticed. "C'mon, c'mon, in here- in here-" Cinnamon moaned as they pulled into a small, shadowed space cut between two buildings. So tiny that they barely fit. "We-" She huffed. "We can hide…"

"Yeah…" Salt wasn't so convinced but Cinnamon didn't sound or look so good. Breath coming out in ragged huffs and skin turning a bit green around her eyes. "Hey, are you okay-?" She'll take that as a solid 'no'. Cut off by the sound of her hurling in the corner.

Yeah, she was definitely not doing too good.

"D-Did we lose him at least…?"

"Sh. Don't know yet."

It's a question on all of their minds and Salt puts Pepper down to chance a glance around the corner of the wall. Tense and… not completely relieved when she spots no sign of Escher having followed them. Cowed by fear, the minutes tick by slowly and in silence. Well, almost. Cinnamon continued to breath heavily, eyes squeezing shut to the point of tears.

Pepper settled down by her side. "...you okay…?"

"...hurts…"

"... _oh._ "

She bites her lip.

Like she'd actually hoped to hear something different.

Salt glances back. The streets are empty and she can't hear any lumbering footfalls or roaring shouts in the search of them. "...If it helps, I don't see anything. I think we lost him."

"It does. Actually." She winces. "Help, I mean."

And Cinnamon groans, wrapping an arm around Pep's shoulders.

She leaned into the grip. Hugging as tightly as she dared. "Momma helped us, you know." Salt clenches her teeth to keep herself from snapping at her. Managing to alternatively fix the dog with a firm glare that… didn't really carry any heat. The old lady panting and huffing, tongue hanging out, and bloodied paws printed against the ground in small swipes of the disconcerting color. "She- She helped you out!"

"I know, I know. I was there and everything."

Salt keeps her mouth shut. It's not as much of a struggle as it usually is.

The dog meets her gaze head on and the impromptu stare down steals her attention. The minutes tick by. Cinnamon's breath evens out as she pets Pepper's hair. And their hammering hearts calm with each passing second that there's no sign of Escher.

Pepper shifts in Cinnamon's hold. "Do you…"

She stops. They look at her, Salt breaking the staring contest, to urge her to continue.

Her cheeks look pale.

"Do you think Spice will find our house first and t-think that we're…?"

She doesn't manage to finish the sentence.

Distracted by the blood.

And they feel queasy at the thought. Cin sighs out through her nose. "No, no," the thought was a bothersome one, one that they didn't want to think about, because, even if it was untrue and they were all okay, they didn't want to imagine how… hurt Spice would be. If he thought… for even just a _second._ "He'll trust in us to take care of ourselves. Besides…! Those pirates went after him. They'll probably keep him distracted. We'll just have to find him before he finds the house."

It's said with the implication that they should stand and go and get them but none of them can bring themselves to lift themselves off the ground.

The silence and the- admittedly as temporary as it was- safety… was too addictive.

That said, they weren't even sure that Cinnamon would be able to stand. Even sitting, her legs were trembling and almost limp. The hit to the head looked worse and worse by the second, especially considering that, when Salt dared to lean forward and look, her pupils didn't look… _right._ It was a concussion if she ever saw one.

Salt can't help but huff a laugh. It sounds pained to even her own ears. "I… I never thought I'd make a habit of trusting pirates to help out." She shakes her head. "The world's gone crazy, hasn't it?"

"At least they have a pretty cute one…"

She rolls her eyes at Cin. "Yeah. Uh-huh. The scariest one of them."

 _"Scary?_ How is she scary-?"

Momma growls.

And they tense, falling silent.

There's nothing but, if anything, Momma's growling only turns more visceral.

"Where is he-?"

"Do you see him-?!"

"He's huge, how could I miss him-?!"

A large shadow falls over their hidey-hole.

Rigid, they look up.

And succinctly summarize their situation: _"Shit."_

Escher is a terror above them. Grasping onto the roofs of each of the houses they lie between, ugly mug turned into something like a sneer but they knew to be a grin. Beady eyes lighting up. Like a child finding the last item in a scavenger hunt. Voice blubbering, in an almost song-like tone, "Found you!"

Safe to say that they scream.

Unfortunate, then, that that's all they really get to do, not even getting the opportunity to run before fat fingers were leaning down to wrap around Cinnamon's leg. Ripping her from the ground. And, already disoriented, she had absolutely no chance to defend herself.

"L-Let go, damn it!" That said, she wasn't about to make it easy for him.

It's Escher's turn to scream.

"Momma-!"

She's grabbed onto his leg, bitten down so hard that blood is already bubbling and dripping from his ankle. The low growling is followed by tearing and the dog shaking her head, the leg still firmly caught in her maw. " _Grr-_!" Salt tears Pepper away. She can barely hold her back. And tries to ignore the way her face pales as Cin is let go, crashing down to the ground. The walls of their alley crumble as Escher stumbles and whips his leg and-

" _No!_ "

Momma is sent rolling across the concrete.

The resulting yip coming out like hiccups and a bumbling Escher stomps his foot. Too enraged to really feel the pain. "Stupid dog, stupid dog! Does it have rabies-?!"

She gets back up. Growling.

"GO 'WAY!"

And gets battered to the side with a backhand.

The high pitched sound of pained whines filled their ears and they froze. It sounds… horrible. Low whimpering from someone in pain and-

Salt feels sick. Even as the dog- _Momma!_ -manages to stand back up despite it all, the ferocious look remains strong. Escher hardly seems bothered. Glaring down on the canine, heavy breathing and boorish.

"St-Stop-" Salt can hardly speak.

Doesn't know whether she's trying to get Momma to stand down or Escher to go away.

The knot in her throat grows thick.

(All she's doing is holding Pepper back. Unable to move. Her legs and arms shake and- oh -Cin is unconscious, isn't she? That's why she's not getting back up. She hit her head on the way down and she's… she's so close… Salt could- Salt could grab her- She could run-)

A yip.

(-but then _Momma_ would be all alone and it'd be like- like finally, finally abandoning her- but that's not- _really_ what she wanted-)

Escher brought his foot down on a leg- turning it to pained howling that- that _grates_ and- _she's still biting- she's_ still fighting- She's _protecting_ them.

(-she doesn't know what to do- doesn't know what to choose- doesn't know what will complete the puzzle correctly- what will make all the pieces fall together into just the right spot where everything could solve itself- and so Salt doesn't make the decision-)

(She just… _stands_ there. Watching.)

_(Like always.)_

Pepper slapped her hands over her ears and shrieked. "Stop it! Stop it!"

(Maybe it was Salt that was really the indecisive one.)

"Stop _hurting-"_

A high pitched ringing. Like steel hitting one another.

_"-Momma?!"_

Pepper's desperate note turns to confusion part way through.

Escher is gone. And, if Cona was there, she would find the sudden disappearance oddly reminiscent.

"Don't worry, dog…" They blink, teary eyed, as red hair, scarred cheeks and still singing claws- (it sounds like bells, almost, twinkling and echoing)- as a boy falls into a low crouch beside Momma. "It's okay now. You were protecting your pups, weren't you?"

The low whine is answer enough.

"I'm not very strong, I don't think. Not compared to you."

How can he _say_ that- when he's the one that sent Escher flying?!

"But I'm supposed to protect your family now. So you can rest." Kat pats the dog on the cheek, feels her sigh into the touch with a groan. Relaxing despite herself. "I've been meaning to try out some new moves… too bad there's too little water to bring out the big ones. Means that I'll be even weaker fighting you than normal."

He turns and sneers at where Escher tumbles out.

"Then again- I don't think I'll need it. Not against a guy like this."

He snarls.

"What the hell- who are you- what are you doing-"

It's weird.

Watching tears lift from their own faces to circle Katsura's wrists, Salt and Pepper gape. "Nothing personal, but my Captain put his trust in me!" He smiles. The sneer disappears with it. And pride and determination practically swell in him. "And I don't want to disappoint!"

He attacks.

Escher howls as claws sink into the arm that he threw up to defend, water streaking past to pierce him even deeper than would normally be possible. "What makes you think you can- _Aarg_ h?!"

"Step one-" Kat jumps back with a grimace, ribs aching as he lands but he dodges the punch aimed for his side so he'll count that as a win. "Someone needs to search for Spice's family and protect them from any and all threats!"

…

…

"Easier said than done." Quinn is humming as Ace holds up three fingers, each one freshly explained. Three steps, all they really needed, but each one seemed to be more important than the next. "But yeah, that does seem to cover all our bases."

Dimly, Kat realized that- yes. Quinn was hopelessly correct about the potential of pissing off the World Nobles. He didn't know from experience but he remembered how people had reacted when Queen Otohime had left Fishman Island with the Celestial Dragons. As if she was already dead the very moment she left their sight.

The people would mourn as they tried to maintain hope that the Queen would return soon.

And a too young to completely understand Kat would remember a scarlet sun that was used to cover a mark that sent a shiver down his spine, even without really knowing what it was or what it meant.

He's distracted by Ace fixing Quinn with a crooked grin.

Practically preening, if Kat was being honest. The almost-outright fond look was enough that he couldn't help but smile himself, getting something like praise from Quinn would do that to you. (Or maybe he's just biased. But even something that could hardly be construed as a compliment from her was something to feel good about. It just always felt like she meant it.)

(It felt like winning a prize from a competition that they didn't realize they were even participating in.)

Quinn snorts. "Oh, don't give me that look. We don't even have the _means_ of accomplishing it yet."

"Don't we?" Ace snipes back. Or, actually, that was too harsh. He's still preening after all, grin spread wide. Busy jumping foot to foot, showing off just how antsy he was getting standing around. Not at all diminished but Quinn's raised brow. "We can just split up and take care of it all at once. That way, everyone's happy."

"Happy is… not the word I would use for it." Comes Quinn's mutter. Something that only he hears. And Kat snickers.

Before shaking his head.

The steps seem easy enough. But-

He bites his lip. For once not forcing himself to scar his tongue with misplaced teeth.

Though he does cut his lip.

(He would later realize that he was copying Quinn's habit, one that she'd been actively in the midst of as well, having also been chewing on her lip in that moment. Too deep in her own thoughts to notice him splitting his lip on his own sharp, shark teeth in a _very_ similar- but worse- fashion.)

Unable to help but wonder where he would end up in all of it.

All of it was… so important and he… He wasn't sure if he'd be capable.

"Kat's on step one."

He jerks.

"Wh-What-?" In shock. "B-But that's- That's not- I'm not a-" Ace doesn't even seem to notice the look on his face or, if he does, he just doesn't care. Not at all bothered by his stuttering and quick attempts at denial. "I'm not a good pick for that!"

"Of course you are."

He opens his mouth and it comes out in a surprised wheeze.

And he wants to say- no, no. That's not right. Definitely not. B-Because…

Because his ribs still ache and his breaths were still coming out in slight huffs at the end, even as he ignored it or brushed it off or shifted so he wasn't putting weight on the worst of the injury. "I- I don't think…" He swallows. "...I'm not a good choice. Look what happened to Salt the last time I tried to protect her…" It sounds hollow to his own ears.

Quinn winces and looks like she wants to say something but Ace beats her to it. "But you had her back then, even though you didn't have to. Not technically." This time- just do it different, he seems to try to be saying. Just do better. And it- really can't be that simple, can it?

"But…"

When they had first arrived at the Twin Isle's, it had been raining and so he hadn't been worried about the lack of water. It'd been more than easy enough to pull from the outside and use it to put out the worst of Ace's flames. So it wouldn't burn them. And it had all been okay. But now he had no such luxury and- it'd shown how weak he was without the ocean and the sky to back him up- this far in-land… if he got into a serious fight with someone, it would be like the Mime all over again.

Maybe even _exactly_ like the Mime.

They only assumed that he was still stuck on Starving after all.

"...I'll just-" He thinks better of crossing his arms over his chest so he can hug himself. It would only make the strain worse. But, now, he didn't know what to do with his hands. Left awkward. Chewing his lip. "-I don't know- Someone else would be better, wouldn't they?"

Ace doesn't seem to think so. Giving him a look, brow raised. As if flabbergasted that he'd even suggest otherwise. "No? You're in-charge of watching our backs, you know?" He opens his mouth, takes a breath, and then doesn't say anything. Snapping it shut. "You can do that for Spice's family too."

"But shouldn't Spice-"

"No."

It's not Ace this time that speaks.

Spice looks resolute.

"If my family is truly fine, then I trust Cin to keep them alive. You searching for them versus me… it won't matter." He looks down at him and Kat doesn't know whether to shrink or puff up. "So long as they get found. You can take care of it."

Strange… that's not- that's not what they expected of him. Even Ace looked surprised, like he'd been waiting for an argument to brew and had already prepared himself to give into it.

"If you are anywhere close to being as strong as your Captain, then it'll be fine."

Kat nods. It's weak. But his heart swells in his chest as he looks to Ace, who just smiles with more confidence in him than Kat had ever felt in his life. "O-Okay then. I can do it." And Kat didn't care how much his ribs hurt or how nervous he was. He didn't want to see that look turn to disappointment. Not if he could help it.

…

…

There's something to be said about running.

Because, if going numb to the world around her was a skill, Quinn had it down to an _artform._

It's probably got more to do with the simplicity of it rather than the act itself. Because her hammering heart is easing, the nerves not so bundled as tightly as they once were, and the tension is not… disappearing but definitely starting to seep out of her in waves.

She could smack herself right now.

Because… why.

Why would she have ever given this up? Memories of running track in high school, messing around the streets of her neighborhood, playing around with (attempting) to race the subway- she had never actually managed to catch back up with the same car as it'd reached its next destination but, hell, if she hadn't been close a couple times- aren't as few and far between as she expected. The exhilaration of just- _doing_ something. Something that didn't involve her mind wandering and instead just moving and looking ahead and having control over herself.

And she had… stopped. For a reason so unimportant that she could hardly even recall it anymore. At least, not a solid, singular one.

(Too tired, so tired, it felt like a weight pressing down on her eyelids, and she just couldn't bring herself to even lift herself up. Not even to check the messages that blew up her phone. The shame-guilty-bad feelings blooming in her stomach until it left nausea and an endless black hole as all she thought about was how much of a… disappointment she was.)

Quinn didn't like to feel stupid but damn if she didn't feel like it right now.

There's just… something almost _majestic_ about seeing her surroundings blur just enough that she couldn't linger her gaze anywhere but ahead of her, really. Something akin to watching the world go by from the seat of a car. The act of actually moving however just made it all the more intrinsic. And well-

Personal.

God was she stupid not to engage in this more.

"This is the place then, huh…?"

The walls of the factory were cold and almost metal-like in appearance. Boards of wood so sanded down and painted gray that it made it hard to even tell if it was actually wood or not. It's a weird difference compared to the outside. Bordering on creepy, if she was being honest, as there were incredibly few lights up and about, shadows seemingly cast every which way. Making it hard on her eyes as she squints, coming to a stop, and watches the people in the factory look up at her arrival. A quick glare has them going back to their work, deciding better on possibly approaching her-

She's not that scary, is she? She doesn't think so. But recent events seem to be trying to tell her otherwise.

-and Quinn skittered down the hallways without another look. Not letting them linger on the sight of her for longer than a few seconds. At the very least the lack of proper lighting matched with her dark skin and hair would make giving a proper description harder if they went to authorities.

The halls grow smaller the deeper she explores.

Quinn paused. Cursed. And pulled up her shirt to cover her nose as she wanders.

It's a spice factory alright.

She- well, she expected there to be… smells. But she hadn't expected it to be quite so pungent. It was bad to the point that she could hardly pick out the difference between the assaulting scents; it was just one big cloud of aroma hitting her all at once.

She sneezed, eyes watering. The burning in her nose bothersome.

It was almost like her pollen allergies all over again.

"Burns…" she grimaced, "the hell… gotta get some windows in this place…"

Very poor design on their part.

The dust from the spices clung to the air and seemed to make breathing itself a chore. It was terrible.

You know, for a factory creating and producing spice's, she expected there to be more gardens and plants. Instead, it was all heavy machinery and unmaintained oil and shifting piles of ground dust- And wow. One glance around the room and there were already way too many potential fire hazards popping up in her face. Ugh, it was a wonder how Ace hadn't already set everything ablaze. Hopefully the luck mark she'd left him with would provide him with a… less flammable area in the direction that Ace and Spice took.

Quin dunked a hand into one of the rows of slow moving spice. The shitty conveyor belt that was clearly… well, if this was a factory endorsed by Dragons she was sure it was top of the line.

Top of the line machinery in this world was apparently very shit and also very… unsafe looking.

She suspiciously glanced at it as it creaked.

Not all that surprised.

(They probably didn't see the need in improving technology once they found something that worked. And, well, if they usually had slaves working under them then there… wouldn't be much of an incentive to at least make the technology _safer._ )

"Is this… pepper…?" She glared at the dark material in the palm of her hand, not daring to sniff when it would probably only make her end up sneezing. "That is… ridiculously fine." The scooped up dust painted the pads of her finger a light grey almost, and she let it sort itself out on her palm, fingers opening to let the dust fall between them. It was finer than sand, easily. In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if it evaporated the moment it came in contact with any sort of liquid.

 _That's_ what they called top quality?

"Tch, frickin' weird."

Maybe it was because she was used to the cheapest store bought brand she could find and the old bottles shoved into the back of the cupboard- left to clump together into an odd looking mess- but the thought of sprinkling the pepper-dust on her food wasn't as appealing as it was apparently supposed to be.

It was weird. Like they were trying to get rid of any possible impurities that may have otherwise been found.

And, being so thorough in its stages of productions, they were left with a product that would've been virtually nonexistent if not for the sheer quantity. Every other belt of varying collar seemed to be under the same sort of treatment and she wondered if Spice preferred the finely ground ingredients himself- Ace said he was a chef, didn't he?

Quinn shook her hand out and moved on.

There was a job to do after all. No matter how… unqualified she felt for it.

She sucked in a deep breath, a mistake given the horrible burning running up her nose, and sighed.

Yeah. Really, _really_ unqualified.

Quinn let the factory blur together around her as she searched for the direction she needed. The vague directions she'd gotten from Spice becoming more convoluted the more she couldn't see where she was going. It was just so dark that- Well.

You get the idea. She couldn't see much.

"Where is it-? Where is it-?"

Just as her search was starting to irritate her and make the knot in her stomach grow with her own impatience- she briefly entertained the thought of just asking but hell no, she'd have to, like, kill them or something if they saw her face, maybe, probably, it didn't matter because she wasn't going to actually ask- when finally, finally, she found what she was supposed to be looking for.

The stairs that headed down.

Who's bright idea was it to put them on the opposite side of the building to the ones that headed up?

Then again, if it wasn't hidden away, that would defeat the entire purpose, wouldn't it? The factory was, apparently, more architecturally close to a tower, the only difference being that the majority of it- the places where they hid the sight of dirty workers and such- was built underground. On the off chance that a World Noble visited. Wouldn't want them to bear witness to their poor, dirty serfs.

(This world was disgusting. But not unfamiliar in its horrors. It was just more… upfront about it. Which, given how the government here compared to her own, she wasn't sure whether to be even more sickened or not by the thought.

And she imagined the only reason it wasn't worse was more due to the separation between the many islands making total control harder, rather than them… actively going out of their way to normalize their misdemeanors like her world did.)

Quinn tried not to think about how much of a bitch it was going to be climbing back up the stairs once all this was said and done.

If possible, it seemed to grow darker and darker the farther she went down.

And quieter.

Much, much quieter.

Quinn frowned.

She'd maybe gone down two floors by this point and seen small glimpses of people working with grinding machines and bottling and other such things but none of them were exactly being quiet. She could still vaguely hear them all through the ceiling- floor?- it was just-

Tension. She felt.

Tense.

And she only had a second to realize that the feeling was oddly familiar before, so caught up in her own thoughts, that she didn't notice the hand that reached out towards her. As if from shadows.

Didn't see the way it slowly stretched, inch by inch, into impossible lengths before it managed to wrap around her ankle and send her toppling down the steps with a shriek. There was only so much she could do besides throwing her arms up to instinctively protect her head before she was sent rolling, a pile of flailing limbs and grunts-

She shakes.

Maybe in fear, maybe in anticipation, maybe something else too, but- Um. Really. She's more taken aback by the almost hysterical laugh that bubbles out of her because-

"Of course! Of-fucking-course, ooh," she giggles and it feels choked to even her own ears, "ooh, kehehe, I should've known. I really- _really_ should have."

He tilts his head.

Ever silent.

"It really is just my luck, you know? It really is." Quinn laughs. "So this is it then, this is how I mess everything up for everyone?"

She thinks that he's trying to figure out what she's getting at. She doesn't know. The Mime is a hard figure to read after all.

"I wish I could give up, that would be easier. And- And I'm so used to disappointing people, it's not like it would even be out of character-"

She grunts as she pushes herself up from where she collapsed against the bottom steps of the third floor beneath the surface.

"-but for some stupid, insane reason, I just can't bring myself to not… at least… _try._ This time."

She's on a knee. Awkward on the steps. But pulls the most intimidating glare she can manage out of her repertoire, if she's scary- She's not going to squander it. If quick glares get people scared, she wants her enemies- she wants the Mime- to be **_terrified._**

(She hopes that its not just her imagination that he flinches back. Even if it's just for a moment.)

"Step two."

She grins. Hands shaking. It's not… quite her instruction. She's paraphrasing. But it gets the idea across just fine.

"Leave no witnesses."

…

...

_"What?"_

Quinn had bristled as Ace turned to look to her expectantly, holding up a second finger that she almost wanted to lean down and bite off just for how much it offended her. None the wiser to her innermost desires, he simply continued to shoot her that cheeky, winning grin that, really, none of them could stand to say no to

Not that he knew that, of course.

She wanted to punch him in the face. But managed to settle for her eye simply twitching.

"It makes the most sense! You did it before, technically."

"That was mostly Cona, if I'm being honest."

But, damn it, if he wasn't right. She _did_ make the most sense.

Frustrated, she ran a hand through her hair. Trying to keep the obvious nervousness off her face. It was starting to sound a bit too similar to last time and she really didn't want to take a knee between her shoulder blades or rub her wrists raw trying to get out of ropes again.

"C'mon, Quinn," Ace chirps, blatantly unaware of her inner turmoil, "you're in-charge of keeping the Nobles or anyone from hearing about us. It goes against… being a pirate to hide the things we're gonna do but-"

Oh, yes. She could tell how much he struggled with this. Looking more than a little sour by the second.

"-you're right. At the moment. There's only four of us-"

"-three." Spice corrects. Unhelpfully trying to retract himself.

"-so getting into a fight with the World right now wouldn't be too good. We'd be completely unprepared."

And, since Quinn can see how much it pains him to admit- there's an odd gleam in his eyes, like he's remembering something, and she thinks it has more than a little something to do with being tied to a tree and having to be forcibly held back, it was… surprising that Quinn didn't have to attempt to do the same. Sad, then, that he had to have to learn this lesson already- so she raised her hands up in a sign of… reassurance, maybe. "Imagine… one thousand Garps hunting you down." Okay, so she's shit at it. The mental image is enough to have him suitably horrified. She almost wants to laugh. But it _does_ succeed at helping him swallow his pride a bit.

(Considering that pride was in part what killed him, putting a hole in his chest, she thinks he could stand to learn to swallow it down more. Even if… the pride had more to do with a mark on his back than something of his own.)

"I… It's not like I'm bothered by a bounty or anything." Somewhat of a lie. "But there's a difference between being _a_ target and being _targeted."_

And Ace should at least understand that.

"...So you'll do it?"

She bites her lip.

She would. Definitely. But that didn't mean she wasn't still worried about it. "I… Are you sure?" She practically deflates. "Literally all three of you are stronger than me."

"So? I trust you to take care of it!"

Well. Shit.

She can't really even think about refusing now, can she?

"Right, right." Her lip bleeds. And she sucks it in with a deep breath before letting it go with a pop. A slow smirk sliding over her face. "Such misplaced trust in me, how shall I ruin this for us all?"

He snorts. "Dramatic."

And all she can bring herself to do is chuckle.

All the while her insides tumbled together with nausea. Yeah. She couldn't _wait_ to fuck this up for everybody.

…

...

Tiberius knew he was not exactly… well, he wasn't exactly being smart right now.

He cursed as fingers fumbled.

He'd nearly been caught once or twice already which, _maybe_ , wouldn't have been so bad. He's sure that more than a few people in the factory wanted Kigu out of the picture just as much as he did but he wasn't taking any chances.

And what if, afterwards, once everything was said and done, they turned him over to the Marines?

To try and take away his position. The one he _rightfully_ deserved.

Tiberius fumbled again with the charges. Relieved that, at the very least, they weren't all that delicate. Made to go off only once fire hit the fuse.

It was his dream after all- to expand and become well known, to be the leader of his own company, of his own herbs and spices-

He was the one that had brought Hunting Chang to the attention of the World Nobles after all. When Saint Jalmack came to the East Blue to visit the pearly streets of Goa Kingdom- that smelled of antiseptic and overused disinfectant and cleaning acids- he had seen his chance to bring attention to his- his own skills.

To not ride off the coat tail of- of Spice's mother for once.

It had been a harrowing event, especially once he heard wind that Jalmack had blown up a ship for sailing _out_ of his way, and so he knew he had to step up his game. Nerves about frayed, he'd started rumors of being able to create plentiful, delicious spices in the hopes that it would catch their attention because Dragons were known to be led by less than obvious whims on even the best of days.

It did.

Nearly got himself enslaved, which was a terrifying ordeal, but a few choice words had Jalmack delighted by the thought of an entire island- producing spices for him and him alone, well, until the other Celestial Dragons caught wind and made a deal with him to get their hands on some of their own.

(Like real dragons were rumored to keep hoards of their treasure trove, Jalmack had wanted to make the others jealous by the bounty he'd scored in a sea so pathetic that it was hardly even a name in their vernacular. It worked. And last Tiberius heard Jalmack's use of his spices were making the other Dragons froth at the mouth in frustration, tearing through other seas to find something better. But Tiberius is nothing if not skilled in his trade.)

The only problem was the appointed Marine that they ordered to watch over production.

Kigu took the order too seriously.

And stole _his factory._

He fumbled again with the setup. Sucking in on his bottom lip, there'd be a lot of damages, maybe even the whole collection of upper floors would get destroyed, but he couldn't bring himself to care. "Set if off once most people are out, it'll take a bit and it'll probably piss Jalmack off but I can _rebuild_ …" Point the blame at someone else, maybe even Spice, and put himself in a position to fix all the problems of the Celestial Dragons and he should be good to go.

Well, assuming there wasn't anything that he didn't account for.

The thought brings up the memory of the threatening woman and the boy that he was… pretty sure was a fishman of some kind that had been helping Salt around earlier. Pirates. It gets a shiver going up his spine. Not the sort of folk he wanted to involve himself with-

"Hey, do you know where that Kigu guy is?"

Shit.

It took all his years of practice and a decidedly scary amount of skill to not flinch away at the touch and, even then, he was only semi-successful. The hand dropping onto his shoulder had his spirit just about jumping out of his skin.

He swallows. Mouth suddenly feeling very dry.

He doesn't turn around. Not completely. "I, uh, I would think that he's still in his office at this time." And, damn, he can't keep the shaky lilt out of his voice as he peaks out of the corner of his eye to see who had gotten the jump on him and-

"Spice?! I- I thought you left!"

Said man is a couple feet away, looking less than impressed, with arms crossed over his chest. "Oh. It's you again."

Tiberius openly gapes.

The one hanging off his shoulder looks curious. Much more so than he has any right to be. "You know him, Spice?"

"Aa. Peripherally."

Tiberius opens his mouth, Spice tilts his head, "I can say, honestly, he's much worse up close." He shuts his mouth. Lips thinning and pursed, the glare he shoots him is more tired and fed up and anything. It receives a snort. One that's clearly meant to say 'pathetic'.

Dragons, he's _insufferable._

"Okay?" The man still hanging off his shoulder still didn't let go but did raise a brow and looked more confused than anything. Wow. His… His fingers were getting kinda tight there. "And that means…?"

Spice gives a slight hum. A nonsensical note that's contemplative in a way that Tiberius decides he doesn't like.

He grimaces. "Sorry, but… _who_ are you?" He doesn't recognize him and he knows everyone on the island, so that could only really mean that- He went rigid, already pale face dropping a few more shades because the only newcomers he'd heard about were- "P-P-Pirate-?!"

Cool grey eyes- the only relief that came from having them completely focus in on him was to note that they weren't glaring, not like that pirate woman from earlier had been doing- slide back to his face and an… almost delighted look pops up. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Well, it can't be because you look like one." Spice snarked and yeah, just- wow, Tiberius really wants to just sit this one out. Take a breather. Unfortunate, then, that Spice decides to take note of what he's been doing. "...Those are explosives." He's virtually unreadable.

Tiberius sweats.

"N-No-"

"And you put them in a factory. Filled to the brim with people."

Oh, the hand on his shoulder is starting to grow more and more painful.

"T-There's less people after hours-!"

Spice's voice is all but dead. "There is a night-shift."

Yeah, extremely painful.

At least the pirates not glaring at him- though that side-eye he's getting is certainly powerful enough on its own.

"It- I have a good reason! It's worth it-"

The hand squeezes. "Worth it?!" The pirates pissed. "You were going to… _burn_ all these people." He barely keeps himself from snapping at him, 'what of it?!' He was a pirate after all, he should know plenty more about ransacking and burning than he did.

"I- I want Kigu gone as much as you do!"

"Oh," Spice sounds like he's half a second away from letting out a dark chuckle, "then you won't mind joining us in confronting him, will you?"

He's being dragged away before he can so much as protest the obvious rhetoric.

The pirate hisses in his ears as he pulls him away. A wicked grin that looks caught between excitement, anticipation, with a hint of adrenaline has him wincing. "Step three. Take down the leader…"

Spice smirks. "And the rest shall follow suit."

Tiberius can feel the sweat clinging to his brow in fear as they grow closer to the darkened office of his nightmares.

…

…

"Step three is rather self-explanatory, isn't it?"

"A bit."

Spice doesn't look like he cares and instead starts to, in a very exaggerated fashion, tap his foot. Quinn wants to snort at him but- well, given the situation, that feels a bit rude at the moment. The impatience is warranted. Besides, this step doesn't have much fanfare and assurance. Doesn't seem to need it. Arrogant, almost, if they're being honest; though it's not as if they don't have the skills to back it up. So leaning towards more… confidence. Maybe.

Quinn is definitely leery of the twin dark smirks that slide over Ace and Spice's face. Kat is just- well, she can practically feel admiration wafting off of him.

"Then that's that, isn't it?"

Yes. Quinn is much more satisfied than she was a few minutes ago and is impossibly impressed by the fact that Ace paused long enough to give actual orders. As simple as they admittedly were.

None of them mention that the lines on Spice's face soften and then subsequently harden in a determination after a moment of mulling it all over. There is a relief about him that's almost… palpable. Even though he declined the objective that they assumed he would prefer- step one; finding and protecting his family. Unaware that the only reason he didn't want to be a part of that one was because he was afraid of what he'd find. If he found anything.

He doesn't really think he could stand the bad answer right now.

So he pushes back the inevitable, grips his sword hilt, and tugs Ace and Quinn in the direction of the factory.

…

…

Kat knows that he…

He doesn't have the strongest grasp on himself. Not exactly, at least.

There's strength and there's training there- that's obvious to anyone who looks at him- but it's also infinitely clear just how… self-taught he is. He knows it. People that knew what to look for could figure it out. And every time he sees how Ace just _holds_ himself, he can see this, and, with the introduction of Spice, it's just become more and more obvious.

(Didn't Ace say something about his grandfather being a Marine and something about an angry bandit lady with a club? It'd been brought up at night, when he was curled up against Quinn's leg and using it as an impromptu pillow, and she was listening to him with an attention that Kat just didn't have in him.)

Hell, even Quinn holds herself more confidently than he does and he's never seen her fight. Though, that might be because he's never seen her attacked either- and the Mime didn't count. Because she hadn't responded. Just froze in place and, well, Kat can't even fault her for that. After seeing what happened to him and Salt when they'd tried to do the same.

No, in comparison, Kat is used to fumbling around and figuring out things on his own- testing, experimentation, trial and error… a lot of it was just running around like a chicken with it's head cut off and trying to find out what worked best without really knowing where to go. It was a slow process, but one that _worked._ It just- It just didn't really _allow_ for him to gain any confidence as he capitalized on his skills because he had no frame of reference for them.

Now, don't get him wrong, Kat knows he's strong. He beat the Beast after all. Easily a head above the rest. And it would be a lie to say that he didn't think he was good at what he did.

(He was just sure there were plenty _better.)_

Fishman Karate, for example, was a skill that eluded him. No matter how hard he tried to grasp at it, without proper instruction, he couldn't wrap his mind around it- at least, not for very long. It just didn't click with him. Fishman Jujitsu on the other hand was much more forthcoming in that respect. An odd statement to admit and actually be _true._ As it stands, Jujitsu is a much rarer and less practiced mastery. It was common knowledge that Fishman Jujitsu was infinitely harder than Fishman Karate. It took more concentration. More finesse. And, up until Ace and Quinn came stumbling upon his island, Kat had barely been able to keep his own control over the subject with his _years_ of practice.

With the claws, they helped, sure, but it was like adding a crutch to a problem that he was already desperate to solve- made worse by the fact that Kat was already prone to losing his head in the midst of a fight.

"Woah!"

Yeah, sometimes almost literally too.

He felt a small grunt escape him as he ducked low under a swipe to the head, feeling the air get picked up from the force of the swing and causing some of his hair to fall into his eyes. Kat grumbled, blowing a puff of breath up to get rid of it and failing horribly. If anything he just made it worse. "Ugh, stop it-" He groaned, distracted. Knowing that he really should be paying more attention to the man in front of him but, even as he finally manages to get the hair out of his face, he can't help but let his eyes linger on the quartet that was Spice's family. They'd managed to skirt around the fight despite the obvious danger and were now hovering over the whimpering form that was their dog-

Kat bit his tongue, chewing until the taste of copper was thick in his mouth.

Already here and he'd already failed.

His heart lurches at the sight and he tries to curb the sick feeling in his stomach with excuses.

It doesn't work.

If only he'd gotten here a few minutes earlier. If only he had been fast enough and been able to get the dog out of danger. If only he had been able to do something. To jump in. To protect. To follow orders and not let _everyone_ down. But he didn't, and he hadn't, and he wasn't, and Kat couldn't help but feel pathetic because he'd already proved to himself that he wasn't good enough to-

The thought gets cut off as he dodges a hit, ribs aching in protest, and he twists his claws in a strike that was meant to throw the water he'd brought with him into a single, slashing blade.

It falls short.

Kat nearly cries.

Which, honestly, might've been a good thing because, hey-! He'd have more water to use then.

(Okay, he's just being dramatic, but he does flush in embarrassment because, wow, that was lame.)

"Damn it."

Yeah, his concentration was subpar _at best_ at the moment.

_"Get back here, little freak!"_

See: The problem with Fishman Karate is that it's very… self-explanatory as a concept. Which unfortunately made it incredibly hard to learn without someone there to take you through the motions. Through the proper channels. Learning it on your own- that was a nearly impossible endeavor in and of itself.

Based around the idea of shoving- pushing- _forcing_ the water molecules within the air and within other people to bend to the will of the user; to follow the order and techniques taught; to keep the hold ironclad and not allow for struggle. The art was rigid and unmoving. It _had_ to be. Because, when the ocean shoved back, you couldn't let it push you down and drown you. The art revolved around brute force, strength, and a confidence born from an unmoving will and experience of an incredibly, _incredibly_ determined person.

...Huh. Maybe that's why he'd never managed to quite get a handle on it.

It's not for everyone.

Jujitsu isn't either but it was-

Much more malleable; agreeable. Much more his style.

Because it was about flowing within the ocean itself and being one with it. Melting into something else- something _greater_ \- and for a lot of people… that was a tough thing to understand. Hard to get behind, much less comprehend. But, then again, Kat had never been particularly attached to his sense of self.

(The power of dissociation, people. Easily among his employ.)

Melting away and drifting into becoming something that wasn't _him_ , if only for a little while, was much easier than it probably should be. Sometimes he shifted into it more often than he probably should but Kat really didn't mind being something else for a little while. If he had minded it, even a little, he would have probably… _most likely_ realized that that's…. More than a little concerning. For multiple reasons.

Instead, Kat simply coughed and cursed, "damn, damn," as his ribs throbbed painfully and the accompanying aches made it difficult to catch his breath and even harder to calm down to the point where he could _attempt_ to make the connection that usually came to him so easily. Ugh, but his head was just too muddled, wasn't it? "Oh, all these flips and shit are _so not worth it!"_ He could feel his body screaming in protest and all he seemed to be doing was exacerbating his injuries from earlier-

At this rate, he'd have more than just a few cracked ribs.

He bit his tongue and snapped back into focus, a shudder running up his spine.

The _problem_ with Jujitsu, and the one that he used his claws to help bypass on better days, was essentially step one in the process. Creating an attachment with the water. Establishing a focal point. Grounding a piece of oneself. It was why learning Fishman Karate was often first. Jujitsu was… so much easier a concept to grasp if you had a frame of reference for the very step he struggled with and, unfortunately, since Kat was very obviously self-taught, he was essentially building his foundation from scratch every single time.

But that's not anything _new_. It's pre-established that Kat had trouble concentrating on a singular thing at a time.

And, right now, considering the fact that his attention is completely split, not only by the stifling pain in his side but also by his encroaching worry; glancing between Escher and the sisters every few seconds. Not wanting to take his eyes off either. Absolutely destroying any semblance of concentration he was trying to keep because- er, ouch. He feels his heart ache as he catches sight of their dog. The poor thing was curled on the ground, a high pitched whine escaping it every few seconds as the girls tried to figure out how to move it without hurting it.

They weren't… quite in the way. Not yet.

Though, if Kat wasn't careful then they'd probably get hit accidentally and-

He catches Salt's eye.

_"Get your head in the game!"_

And ducks.

"Shi- Sorry!" Rolling to the side to avoid the foot that comes down where he had just been standing. "Ooh, don't call me out like this!" Feeling his face flush and burn. To the point where he doesn't think it'll be going away any time soon, even if it did technically help in snapping him to attention.

Kat shakes his head, scraping together as much focus as he could manage with a single, deep breath and-

Slow.

_In._

Down.

_And out._

He slashes a claw upwards.

Ribbons of water mix with blood and stain his collection pink as he swerves out of the way of the roaring beast of a man and is narrowly missed by the furious retaliation that comes from the attack. It's a short lived triumph because the hit cracks the ground and flings up dust and dirt and pebbles in a puff of cloud that completely obscures his vision. And sends him into a coughing fit as he grits his teeth and shutters, one eye slamming shut while the other is squinted and watery against the grain, "Was that- hurk, really necessary?" The resulting groan is bitten back as he spits out a glob of dirt that somehow got flung into his mouth, taking a deep breath to try and focus so he could take another shot at the guy.

Slow.

_In._

Down.

_And o-_

"Hrk!"

 _That's_ a rock in his throat. He chokes.

Which is unfortunate timing, really. Because Escher comes charging out of the dust cloud like a bull- ironically, what with Kat's bright red hair, the comparison probably fits the situation more than it should- and he's utterly unprepared as he's swept completely off his feet as a thick shoulder digs into his gut and- There's an audible noise that sounds _suspiciously_ like a 'yoink!' and Kat distantly realizes that he's airborne. Mostly because there's half a second where his stomach drops and another half where the ground seems way, _way_ too close to his face before he just barely manages to throw his hands up protectively and… Well, he's saved himself from a broken nose but maybe not a concussion as he makes rough contact with the floor and is sent rolling in the ensuing momentum.

"Snrk-! Ow, ow, ow…!" Kat is pretty sure that his nose should not be only a few centimeters from making contact with his knee and yet- Here he was. "Oh, c'mon!" Sent in a pile of limbs, somersaulting across the ground. He actually is _pretty frickin' sure_ that his body went skipping like a rock on water there because he _definitely_ feels himself catch air more than once.

Still.

He picks himself back up. Not even stumbling over his own feet as he does so. More weary than anything.

"Little freak," Escher sneers, "why don't you just stay down?"

Aw, how sweet. He was trying to give him the option to stop. It was almost cute how he was clearly struggling to hold in his rage...

...Kat's been spending too much time with Quinn, hasn't he?

"Tch. Oh, like you would actually let me." The wounds- the lacerations that he'd caused- are thick and bloody but, ultimately, not that deep. They look worse than they actually are and Kat's gotten enough injuries to know that they only really serve to piss off in the long run and Escher is looking like he wants to grab him by the head and bash his skull into the ground until it caves already. He doesn't seem the type to need incentive. "Besides, I can't." He points out, panting. Bruised but not beaten. "This fight is just way too easy. I'd feel guilty for making you think you could actually win against me!"

Wrong thing to say- or, more than likely, the _right_ thing to say in this context because that for sure pisses him off.

And Kat snickers as he's rushed. Subsequently drawing Escher away from where the girls were standing and keeping all of his attention on him. Escher had no such problem with getting distracted, not like Kat, even if his thoughts seemed to boil down to _punch_ and _attack_ and _maim_ , he was very one-track minded and, for that, he was beyond thankful. Escher had gotten dangerously close to them and Kat had nearly had a heart attack right then and there once he realized it. All his efforts had gone in to keeping the nerves from showing on his face and-

He clicks his teeth together, trying to quell his fear of ruining everything and just focusing on the fight.

In some way, the fear helps.

It's like an extra heart beat in his chest, making his blood boil with the extra pace going alongside his own and the blood in his mouth drips past his own lips with a numbing throb that assures him which beat is his own. "Gotta keep going, you know?" He smirks, though he's pretty sure it looks more like a grimace. "I can't let the crew down. I promised to take care of this."

But already the weight of total failure was eating away at him.

"Die already-! _Die, die-!"_

Well. At least Escher didn't have much in the way of monologuing.

Kat takes a deep breath.

Tries to push Salt, and Cinnamon, and Pepper, and the dog from his mind- Tries to push the crew from it as well-

And prepares to attack with all of his might in the hopes of finishing this sooner, rather than later. Maybe if he finishes this quickly he can make up for not arriving in time to help all of them. Maybe if he proves he's strong enough _to protect_ then it'll all be fine and he'll stop feeling guilty for letting Ace down. "I got this. I got this. I got thi-"

A rock bounces off Escher's head.

Silence.

For a long moment.

If anything, the whole street had frozen.

"... _Eh?_ "

As if mechanical, Kat and Escher turn to stare in unison. And Kat is shocked to find Salt, arm extended in a throw, and already crouching down low to pick up another rock-

_"You-?!"_

Escher snarls but is cut off as another clips his forehead.

Kat yelps. "W-What are you doing-?! You're just u-unnecessarily drawing attention to yourself-!"

 _"Sh-Sh_ ut up!"

He snaps his mouth shut.

"I don't know what I'm doing either!"

And then immediately goes to open it again.

"N-No! Don't speak! I have- I have something to say-"

His mouth shuts again.

"-I-I-I kn-know you don't really wanna protect us…" He would've gone to open his mouth and deny it if it wasn't for the look that she sent his way. Her head is down, hair frizzing up, and she hiccups as tears prick her eyes- not due at all to pain. It's weird, she sniffed, she'd been pretty sure she'd been all dried out of tears but watching Kat lead Escher away was enough to have her emotions rearing their head again. Especially seeing how he kept glancing their way when he didn't think they were paying attention. "I get it. I do. E-Especially for me. And I- I don't even blame you for that. But you said it yourself, didn't you?"

Kat frowns.

It's almost soft in appearance but he can feel how it pulls on his lips roughly. How out of place it feels as he tries to figure out what the question is talking about specifically. When it becomes clear that he's not going to figure it out though, he tilts his head, "...What?"

"You said you promised to protect us. Because it's what that Captain of yours asked you to do, right?" A quick nod has her swallowing, mouth dry. "I know. I- I'm not naive. I know that you're not doing this out of the goodness of your heart-"

True but hey.

"-It's because- It's because you want to impress him. Him and Quinn. So- So you get it, don't you?" She clutches at her injured arm and hisses as pain thunders through it. " _Why_ I got this? I was… in over my head. I know that. B-But I just wanted… I just wanted to fix everything. So Spice wouldn't have to worry anymore. That I…"

She chokes a little.

Like it hurts to admit and maybe it does.

"...I just wanted him to look at me like I was _useful."_

The voice crack at the end is enough to have him wincing but Salt just shakes her head, trying to hide the wobble in her lip as she grasps a rock and shakily rears her good arm back to throw it. It doesn't go anywhere near as far as the first two did. "I-It's okay… that you- that you don't really want to help us but I can see that it's messing with you… to worry. So just- just take my advice okay?" It's a little weird how easy it was that Kat could hear her because Escher is spitting and snarling curses, stomping his foot harder and harder into the ground once it becomes clear that neither are listening.

"Advice?"

"Y-Yeah."

He's dubious.

Salt scoffs and shakes her head, wiping her arm over her face. "Whenever… Whenever the going gets tough, you just gotta remind yourself. Or, in your case, you just gotta think-" It was what kept her going day in and day out. What had kept her calling past the point that anyone else would've given up at, even as the 'puru puru' of the snail became nothing but a white noise with no end in sight… lulling her into despair. "What if it was your family- your crew behind you? What if it was them that you're trying to protect, not us, not some strangers- but someone you… actually care about."

Oh.

Oh.

That… certainly does snap things into perspective.

"Aa."

His brow furrows as a new clarity falls over him. Yeah, that would change the stakes wouldn't it?

If it was Quinn and Ace behind him…

He thinks he would be so focused on wanting to help them out, protect them, that he wouldn't even have time to think about anything else- certainly not his nervousness and anxiety over the situation. And maybe that was weird- Because, realistically, he'd only known them for a few days and really, probably shouldn't be as attached to them as he is but-

Quinn would shoot him a smile, almost secretive, like she felt embarrassed for showing emotion other than sarcasm or sass, but it would make her eyes crinkle and dimple slightly as her expression softened. Usually after either him or Ace tried to compete-

Thankfully, he never suggested another swimming competition because he didn't think any of them would appreciate it.

-or said or did something stupid. Though, recently, when he's about to fall asleep and it's getting hard to see with the lack of light as the sun goes down, he can sneak a glance and see her with at least one eye open. Watching, like a guard over them, and sees a smile grow across her face. Absolutely beautiful and untainted by nerves. And he doesn't even think that she herself is aware of the look. Like everything is right in the world and all that's left is to be… Content. In the moment.

Ace would light up, not unlike the sun, a toothy grin already spread across his face before Kat could do much more than glance his way. Like the sight of him or his attention alone was enough to have him giddy. And, much like the sun, he found himself squinting at him more often than not but when he would go to turn away, even for just a moment, it was to realize just how much he missed the warmth wafted off him.

And, even as he grew used to being within that heat, he couldn't help but realize how easily he began revolving around it-

And how much it didn't bother him.

How, sometimes, when the mornings were just beginning to dawn and Ace was still rubbing at his eyes, he would look around and his eyes would find both Kat and Quinn and he'd look surprised to see them. As if he hadn't expected to wake up and find either of them there. It would almost be disheartening, if not for the way that grin would come back. Even brighter than it ever had been before.

But both of them- _both_ and he couldn't quite comprehend why- looked at him like he was… something. As if he meant something. And not just as a potential threat or pathetic person or something lesser or be taken advantage of.

The thought that he was the only thing standing between them and an untimely demise was a sickening one. Not one that he really wanted to entertain, even as a possibility. And he briefly couldn't help but wonder how they both were doing on their own steps-

Before shaking his head. No. He was sure they were fine. Salt wasn't trying to make him worry, she was trying to get him to reel it in and focus and he couldn't believe it but it was _working._

After all, "If you can't pay attention to what's in front of you, how can you hope to protect what's behind?" Kat's grin turns into something much more determined because, after all, this is just practices, isn't it? Practice of a duty that he's all too keen in upholding. "I… kind of like that." He admits to himself, albeit quietly. "It- I already said I would watch Ace's back and this isn't all that different. A crew is supposed to protect their own after all!"

And if he was the one watching their backs…

He licked his lips.

Then he'd have nobody to blame but himself if he failed.

He sucked in a deep breath through his nose, suddenly overcome with an eerie focus and tried to manifest all the cold and deadliness of the Beast itself. He doesn't scare Escher, no, he's not quite on that level yet, but it does let him know he's finally getting serious.

"One."

"Haa _ah?!"_

"I promise you…" He breathes out slowly and then repeats the action of taking in a thick breath that fills his lungs with an overabundance of air. "One hit. That's all I'm going to need to win." He lets it out.

Escher snorts, not unlike a bovine. "I'm gonna stomp you, little freak!"

Now Kat was often unsuccessful with many attacks before his claws had come to him. Case in point: the Beast. While he was not absolved of fighting because of this- he lived in the ocean half the time, if it wasn't the beast it was a shark or a too large fish taking potshots, and while he was on land it'd been boys around his age that knew not to get too close since he could overpowering any one of them in a straightforward fight- not many of his experiments had gotten conclusive… well, conclusive results. Because he hadn't been able to reach the necessary focus-

High time he finish those tests, isn't it?

_In._

"Spice and those brats are next, you hear me?!"

_Out._

"I'll kill you! Little freak!"

_In._

He had a job to do.

_And out._

He had a job _to do._

And, damn it, if he wasn't determined to get it done.

With the amount of water he had- it was barely enough to fill a bucket in its entirety but… He licked his lips, running through the possibilities. If he separated and allowed it to rise and if he focuses hard enough on making them their own individual concentrations then he could… Kat knew his eyes were gleaming as the thoughts processed.

The water was already being controlled to swirl in the air, pulsating; almost as if they were hanging stars in the sky. That was a comparison that Katsura would, admittedly, not see himself because, to him, the peal of four, they looked more like-

**_"Carillon!"_ **

And felt his eyes snap open just as Escher bore down on top of him. The claws on his hands ring like the bells he imagines and water bullets in rushing sets.

To Salt, who is observing the confrontation through blurry eyes, it seems like all Kat did was slide forward on one foot before twisting around Escher and falling into a spin, one clawed hand outstretched. But it seemed to be more than enough because the water that was in the air disappear like bullets and she sucks in a sharp breath. "N-No… way!"

There's a smattering of blood as Escher howls and falls to his knees, the distant cacophony of ringing bells fading within the second.

"J-Just like t-that…?!"

Kat let's out the breath he was holding, turns back around, dropping his hand, and-

Gapes?

"Wait-" He blinks rapidly, mouth falling open in shock. "I really did it?!"

_"You didn't think you could?!"_

He threw his hands up, eyes blown wide. "I didn't actually think I could do it in one hit! I was just trying to look like a badass!"

Salt barely kept herself from shrieking as she whimpers, falling to her knees. And Kat doesn't think he's very good at spotting emotion but he thinks she's happy.

That thought gets confirmed as soon as he sees the grin spread across her beaming, if tearful, face.

...

...

Quinn was, frankly, abysmal at strategy. Tactics, what's that? She liked to talk a big game and act like she was planning further ahead than _in the moment_ but she really didn't have anything to back up her words.

Which is why she got so frustrated with Ace's fighting style if she was being honest- you know, the whole punch first, ask questions later thing- she was secretly and definitely holding him to a much higher standard than her. For Kat as well.

She found that if she expected more out of someone they typically went and fulfilled those expectations eventually.

Like setting a competitive bar for them to climb. One that was very high up. All the while she snickered in the background on her very, very low bar. Letting them stand on her shoulders to reach, if you will. Almost… helpful. In a roundabout sort of way.

Honestly, that was probably the only thing keeping her alive at the moment. Her absolute and, in her mind, completely _reasonable_ insistence to overestimate pretty much everyone around her.

What?

It was much better than underestimating someone. She'd rather overestimate and have to dial it down or pick up the slack than expect nothing from someone else.

It was actually a very good strategy for assigned group projects. Mostly because it made at least one of her group mates eventually squeal under the pressure and start panic working which she could then jump in on.

(She never claimed to be a good person, much less a decent one.)

(But… ouch. Thinking back. Definitely one of her greater sins. You just- You just don't _do_ that unless you're blatantly sociopathic. And, well, _maybe?_ )

It only failed if she didn't gauge their personalities correctly. Because sometimes there's no helping the slackers and hangovered peers.

The problem in this particular instance however is the fact that there's not much to overestimate. There really, really isn't. The quick glance of fear that had her heart stuttering in her chest from the earlier glimpse of the Mime was incredibly telling of what she was up against.

Speed, power, silence. All so much stronger than she was. Then Kat was. And she was pretty sure Spice and even maybe Ace too, well, before his logia, would be having troubles- she almost wished she'd gotten a logia instead… she very much doubted her luck was bad enough to have her running into any Haki-empowered fellows in the East Blue.

Not unless they were Garp, Shanks, Mihawk, or… Yeah, she's just going to go ahead and shut up now. Apparently it was much, much more likely than she was giving the weakest sea credit because holy shit. Was this place secretly a hotbed of bastard attraction? In more ways than one- cough, Ace and Luffy, cough- because she was pretty sure foes like that should be sticking to the New World and not little islands yonder.

Thankfully, the Mime didn't seem like _complete and utter evisceration_ in opponent form. More, simply, exponentially slow and deliberate, assisted suicide it seems.

Ow.

She was not having a good time.

And to be caught in a fight on the _stairs_ too. Ugh. She couldn't even say she had the advantage of the highground.

Something was telling her that she was going to have many more bruises to look forward to later and _yes-_ that something did come in the form of a fist to the gut and an unceremonious- ow, ow, her neck is going to break if she doesn't catch herself- tumble down the dreaded stairs.

"So far," she wheezed, breathless, "step two fucking _sucks."_

And oh- is that a heel preparing to greet her face? Yes, yes, she'll just roll to the side now and- aa! He broke the staircase she was lying on. It's good that that didn't go through her skull, she didn't think it would be very survivable. Because it definitely had the might behind it to back up the sudden spike of fear jumping into her chest at the thought of dealing with her head caving in. Thankfully, somehow, the fear is nowhere near as debilitating as it had been with their first interaction. Lucky her, huh. And, speaking of luck, a quick mark on her wrist, there in the hopes of something good, disappeared as the stair collapsed out from under her and she's sent sliding out from beneath him in what might be the most visually comical means of escape she's ever employed.

And she doesn't care because-!

Oh. Quinn is terrified. That's non-negotiable.

It's a similar terror to that creeping- _creeping-_ **creeping-** fear but also much more…

What's the word?

Manageable.

In a sick sort of way, it's got something to do with the intent to kill her in every single move. There's no games as yellow eyes look down on her. None of that… _mocking_ there was before. It's something that she knows is definitely strange to find relief in but Quinn knows she's not "all there" in some senses of the word. Broken bones, scars, death- something she could heal from or something that would kill her in an instant. It caused a relief there and certainly not a pretty one.

Before- The Mime had been taunting and torturous, mocking and playful with a twisted and gleeful air about him. Like breaking her would be a fun way to pass the time but not outright- oh, _never_ outright- kill her. That was a much more terrifying concept. Because, as little as Quinn did have, she still had her body- still had herself. And the thought of being crippled, left beyond repair… It was not a pleasant one.

It was made worse by the very gross feeling of living to watch grey eyes turn to look at her in endless disappointment or, even worse, dragged down and suffering in her failure. A gross feeling that churned her stomach nauseatingly and one she'd push aside for another day because wow- it was _not_ a good idea to be touching whatever that was right now.

Yes, death would certainly be more welcome in that aspect.

What was that saying- Death before Dishonor? Never thought she'd be buying into that concept. She'd never been an honorable person, at least not by her standards, but there are worse things to discover as she got older.

Like how it feels to be thrown down a stairwell!

Because dodging is not her strong-suit.

It feels very bad, she'll assure you. Don't try it at home. Look she's trying but, at this rate, she might be pulling a Kuina sooner rather than later.

"Least…" Oh, and now she knows how it feels when Katsura bites through his tongue. Voice slurred, blood spilling from the corner of her mouth, and she's pretty sure that if she doesn't have a concussion now she's going to get one soon. "...I'm closer to my destination now…" At this pace, she'd get there in no time. Just a few more 'friendly' tosses down after all.

The shadow falls over her unbidden. Darkness mixing with darkness.

She rolls backwards, onto the platform of an actual floor for once and just barely falls under the leaping tackle that would've knocked even more air from her lungs. Weak coughing sputtering past as she whips around, "You know, I don't know what I did to piss you off but doesn't this seem a little overkill?" No answer. Of course. She can't even have fun with this. "No? No? Tough crowd." Though, maybe, it's got something to do with the deep wound piercing his side. "In fear of sounding… concerned, who hurt you? Because I know it wasn't me. As much as I wish it was."

Given the lunge, apparently it was a bad question.

She almost wants to laugh.

The piece of wood looks like it'd been part of a beam of some kind, not that she could actually tell, it just didn't look pretty. Large, imposing, dripping with red, stuck in his side and buried firmly between his ribs. She's willing to bet that it'd gone pretty deep too. If the fact that it was still in there despite having more than a few inches still sticking out was anything to go by. And whoever had done that number on him had clearly pissed him off something fierce.

"Keheh, well, at least I know that you _bleed."_

The dazed triumph gets wiped off her face almost as soon as it appears.

-0-

Coughing. The dust still had yet to settle. It's not as if the building had been felled but damn if it's not destroyed. It was certainly a sight to come upon. The broken chairs and table and glass strewn about the floor this way and that. A rather large pile behind the bar, where very few bottles managed to survive, broken remains dripping wasted alcohol as fingers-

Wait. Fingers?!

With a gasp, an arm lurched out from beneath the pile of wood and scraped nails tore at the floor in a mad scramble to pull the rest of it's connecting body from the confines of it's wooden prison.

Cona sucks in the dust filled air and immediately begins hacking up a lung. "That… That was a close one…!" The bartender pushing out from the same pile, just behind her, splinters and chunks of wood tangled in her hair. Both of them were covered in a litany of cuts and bruises.

The bartender huffed a wheeze. "Tell me about it."

Oh, ow, everything hurt.

Cona couldn't believe the headache coming on. Somehow managing to power through it as she grabbed the bartender and yanked her into a sitting position, the woman was more than a little delirious and she could see that her eyes were not dilating properly. "Huu… Okay, no offense but you're-" She grunted. "Heavier than you look."

"Offense…" A gasp. "Taken."

"Oh, boohoo."

Someone's in a bad mood. Whatever. It's… _fair_ at least.

Cona slumps against the wall as soon as the bartender finds herself freed. Both sit in silence, heaving, panting breaths, dark bruises beneath their eyes and scattered everywhere else, and thick splinters make the bartenders hands shake with the weight of them buried deep into her palms. She's on her knees. Looking for the whole world like she's dazed and confused as both their minds rush to sort through the flashing images of what took place just a few short hours ago- what had left them close to unconsciousness and not daring to breathe beneath a pile of wood until they knew, for absolute certainty, that the threat had passed.

Cona takes in a deep breath.

"So… _that_ happened."

Silence.

And then they're both so overcome with relief that they can't do anything but breakdown into hysterics. Tears in their eyes as Cona flings herself into the bartender's arms and can't help but plant a kiss to her mouth, their previous argument so far away that she could hardly remember it anymore. Could hardly bring herself to care to try.

"Oh, god…"

"We did it! We did it-!"

"I can't believe we're alive!"

"We hurt the Mime!"

There's a moment of silence.

Their eyes widen in disbelief and some mixture of both horror and excitement has their eyes sparkling as they make contact.

"We…"

Cona breathed.

"...managed to actually… _hurt_ the…

"... _the Mime."_

The bartender finishes for her.

And, for them, that had been an impossible task. A daunting unrealistic dream. Something they had never thought would ever come to pass. Not for anyone, much less… _them._

Eyes flicker to the blood pooled onto the floor. It's red. And looks so dreadfully… _human_ that they can hardly connect it to the image of who actually spilt it. It's just hard to imagine that- that a monster like that- like the Mime- could bleed red just the same as anyone else.

It had taken everything. All the adrenaline in their veins pumping, screaming until their throats were raw and their voices hoarse, and-

And a small golden mark denoting _luck_ hidden on the back of Cona's neck.

Odd, that a series of events, beginning with being thrown through a table, would result in her gaining the small, _miniscule_ chance of grabbing the broken piece of a table leg- sharpened and splintering- and managing to toss it to the bartender just as the Mime came bearing down on her in a body slam. The weight and speed of his own attack being his own undoing in that instance. Even if the makeshift spear had shattered in the bartenders hands and left her with marred, fractured fingers and wood stuck deep enough that they both knew a knife would be the only way to dig it all out- it was worth it.

It was worth the Mime seeing red and destroying the bar indiscriminately. It was worth the both of them being thrown across the room and being buried and, subsequently hidden, beneath a pile of rubble.

Because-

They had done what they knew to be the _impossible._

And, not only that, but they had lived. Worse for wear, of course, but a small price to pay for the both of them being, you know, _alive!_

The bartender's eyes burn wet with tears. Joy, unrepentant and permanently fixed with her own shock over… just the _entire_ situation. She hiccups, "...I love you."

"I k-know. I know." Cona wheezes as arms squeeze her hard enough to steal her breath. The force of her own smile making her face hurt. "I love you too. Everything is… Everything is going to be okay. But… But no more of that throwing people under the boat, crap…" They'd both had enough of it for a lifetime.

"We're gonna be okay."

And they're not good people. Are barely trying to be.

But, they think that, at least now, they might have a better opportunity to be.

_"We managed to hurt the Mime!"_

-0-

Quinn screams.

Guttural.

She can already feel the tears pricking the corners of her eyes and threatening to fall. It takes a great amount of willpower to grit her teeth and bear it- "Fu…" She nearly bites her tongue off as another scream rips through. _"Fuck you!"_

Her arm- her arm- _her arm-_

(-there's blood and broken bone and this feels familiar somehow, doesn't it? There is something missing from the picture though. Soft sands and ocean water and-)

Oh, god. She thinks she's going to be sick. There's something thick in her throat, raw and bundled, and it rips through her chest until her vocal cords feel like they've been torn to shreds. The high-pitched almost-wail that cuts through the air- t _he eerie silence-_ is made so, _so_ much worse.

It would be better, almost. If there was noise. But, if anything, the air seemed to just grow more and more quiet. Suffocating and oppressive and even if she knew it was an option, she wouldn't have been able to bring herself to call for help. Too drowned by the sounds that escape her, echoing and futile. Panting, tearing, and-

Another stomp of a foot and she screams.

(-twisted, she's being twisted, she feels like she's being squeezed into a box too small for her body and it makes her stomach drop and _oh_ \- this is… this is what-)

Unfortunate thing about stairs.

They give a lot of leverage.

Especially when part of one arm is partially hanging off the edge of a step and the corner of it is perfectly lined up with the impossibly long leg that takes a sadistic pleasure in coming down on the-

There's a finality in the snap.

She gasps brokenly.

The only solace she takes is in knowing that she hasn't shown him tears. There is only a wetness to her eyes that refuses to spill. But, unfortunately, the whimpers are cutting it close, especially as the heel digs and digs and twists and- Oh, yes. Definitely going to be sick later. "Ge… Get off…" There is a break in her voice, she grits her teeth. A crack. "Get off of me!" She doesn't beg. She won't.

It wouldn't help and Quinn is furious enough to not want to give him even the slightest bit of satisfaction.

The demand goes unheard.

And the foot digs down before it lifts up and she can already imagine the pain again. How much worse it will be a second- third- fourth time.

"No-!" It's more of an open mouthed wheeze by this point. "No, no, no-!"

Quinn is terrified. Why is she terrified? She doesn't think she's ever been scared of looming death before, not like this, and she is no stranger to hurt. But somehow-

Somehow this is different.

It has been for awhile now.

"I-!" She nearly bites her tongue off as he stomps again and she's sent writhing. Struggling weakly against the other foot that pins her by the stomach as he lifts again to hurt her- to watch her scream even though her throat is already raw and strangled-

This is a torture of opportunity and she's almost afraid of making it worse.

Almost.

"I'm not s-s-scared. Of _you._ " She spits, feeling not unlike a pinned, mangy and wild dog. Her teeth barred and bloody for all her small, little world to see. "It'll be worse- if I-"

Stomp.

_"Aaaaagh-!"_

Delicate twist of the heel, a simple action, really, but one that causes her so much pain.

A dazed part of her wonders how mangled her arm is by this point. She's not surprised to find that she can't feel her fingertips anymore. Can't hardly register that she even has an arm below her elbow anymore. It's just throbbing- _pain, pain, pain._

She hiccups between hisses of breath. "I-It- It'll be worse to fa-fail, you know? Tha… That's why you're going so hard on me- on _everything,_ isn't it? You're just following o-orders too!" Amazingly, it seems to give him pause and Quinn sucks in as much air as she can. Yellow eyes crinkle slightly and she can see her own reflected in them. Dark and dazed and glinting with something unreadable, even for her. "B-Be-Because…"

The heel still twists, though not as harsh, and she gasps.

There's a spark in her eyes.

"W-We've- We've all got people we'd ra-rather not disappoint."

Maybe it would've been more badass of a line if she'd actually been able to get through it without stuttering but, hey, she'll take what she can get.

-It just needed to work as a distraction anyways.

Quinn is lucky that the stairwell is so small because it let's her slam a foot into the side of the wall, just enough to jostle the Mime as she pushes a leg off of it and uses the leverage to slightly reorient herself and rear her leg up and over his knee in the same exact moment that he lunges for her neck and-

She slams her foot directly into the wooden stake nestled between his ribs.

It's a cheap shot.

And one she takes no small amount of pleasure in.

The silent howl of pain is enough to have a cruel smirk momentarily sliding across her face as he jerks away from her feet as she attempts to grind it down even further on the injury, perhaps hoping that it'll pierce a lung. The thought has a burning and icy satisfaction curling in her gut. And then she's driving her foot down and using the opportunity of leverage to push her body out from under him and is scrambling away, nearly somersaulting down another flight of stairs _backwards_ , and rips herself downwards towards-

Well.

Towards _anything,_ really.

Much too saturated in panic and fear to feel it even _slightly_ begin to ebb away.

 _"Think, think,_ c'mon, Quinn- _think!_ Th- There has to be a way to get out of this!" At this rate, it didn't matter what she did. She was going to die. He was just- He was just too strong. If there was any chance of her coming out of this she had to find… something. A weakness, a distraction, something other than playing dirty because that could only be used so many times before-

Wait, what was it that Kat said again?

That… since he was a Mime… he obeyed the… the…

Quinn hates this world's guts. This world is a dumb piece of shit and she hates it so- so- so much. Because, seriously, if it was really that simple-

-that _ridiculous-_

-that incredibly _stupid-_

-she was going to throw a fucking _fit._

_"There's a wall between you and me!"_

She manages to spit it out somehow, words jumbled and bumbling into one another with the sheer speed at which she forces it out, all in one breath. Because if she'd been even a second later she would've taken a knee directly to the center of her back. How she didn't?

Well. He stopped.

Seemingly stuck, hanging in mid-air. The only point of contact he even had with the ground appeared to be the toe of his shoe but even that seemed virtually nonexistent and it… wouldn't make sense for someone to be able to halt their movements completely like that. Inertia should've had him stumbling and trying to get back into position like nothing had ever happened. It was incredibly freaky and unnatural actually.

Of course, then Quinn's mind caught up with her just as he took in the unfortunately well-timed mention of invisible walls before he was booking it over to the actual walls and tearing at the wooden boards since… since, if he got rid of those, he'd be able to just sneak past his own wall entirely by going around it.

"You're in a box!"

Ridiculous. Ridiculous. Quinn wants to scream and cry and tear her own hair out. This- This really couldn't be happening. Not after how everything- Oh, she does not understand what is _wrong_ with this world.

Absolutely…

"I-It's… It's…!"

Ridiculous.

"It's getting smaller around you! Steadily."

What the hell kind of Mime apparently took requests? What was he even doing it for- _exposure?!_

Quinn sneered.

"No door, no key, no lock. It's an impenetrable box-" Oh, she hates this and her eyes burn with frustration and anger over the sheer ridiculousness. "-and it's getting _smaller."_

It's more fascinating than anything to watch him panicking. Yellow eyes fluttering and flicking from her to his hands squeezed firmly at the shrinking space he was folding himself down to accommodate. The sight brought a manic feeling. One that Quinn was all too giddy to entertain, even if she knew it was probably a bad idea in the long run, she just couldn't help herself. It was almost addictive. The prospect of winning while he was kept so, so powerless.

"And it's _suffocating."_

She's really not a good person. But this whole thing is stupid enough that she can't bring herself to care. Especially since it was his _own fault_ as well. "...Keheh… he… _!"_ There's a bubbly feeling building in her chest. Something like triumph. And all the feelings of frustration and stress from the last few weeks come surging into a crescendo of emotion.

It probably has to do more with the world in general than anything. The months spent unable to compute or acknowledge everything around her, the endless expanse of water and the rocking of waves so unlike the sound of noisy cars and the empty walls of home, the thought of sea monsters trying to kill her, of drowning all alone, of stupid men riding on the coattail of monsters and too big for their britches- All of it balanced by the sheer stupidity that allowed for the existence of a Mime so overcome by it's own illusions that it would obey others who created them.

It was so stupid that it did nothing but make her angry.

Her fists clenched. She really hated this world if this was her reality. "Well, it's getting smaller, it's starting to crush you!" Yes, she can see it now. See the way he's so flattened into the floor, so curled up and square that he's nearly a third of his original size. Any further and she thinks she might just break the illusion. "...It's stopped now." She breathes. "But it's still so constricting that not even your fingers can move, got that? Can't even snap them."

Her own fingers fumble as she reaches back, her good arm aching with its own litany of bruises as she grips the small knife- Cona's stolen knife- hooked to the loops of her shorts. The Mime notices her pull it from it's sheath and starts to struggle. And Quinn stalks forward, eyes fixed firmly on his neck, as she sucks in a carefully controlled breath. Trying to not show how shaky she really is.

She's…

Going to kill him.

She has to.

And she doesn't even feel bad about it. Not- _Not_ really.

Her body feels laden with weight. Heavy, like something is holding her down. Even just the action of walking has her struggling to take a step forward because-

A heartbeat.

Deep breath.

She's going to kill him.

Another beat.

Another breath.

And she's not even going to hesitate is she?

A beat.

Detached, she realizes the knife is already against his throat. The blade not piercing skin but just… sitting there. Waiting to be pressed down.

She leans forward and-

A beat.

Another.

Quinn feels something like relief melt away all the anger and frustration. Leaving her oddly relaxed as a laugh manages to escape her. "I knew it."

Quinn...

Smiles.

Toothy and all too real. "I… _knew_ it!" There's a hand gripping her wrist.

A finger wags in her face.

As if to say, playfully: "Nuh-uh!"

"It was too ridiculous for even you to keep up!" And it's such a relief that real, actual joy grips her. "It was all just a game. It was all… always a game…!" There is no Miming. There is no stupid, laughable absurdity.

She tries to stab him. Manages to shove her knee into the stake in his side, just enough to hurt, before her good arm is being ripped away- the knife skittering across the floor- and she's being pushed away as he stands back up and Quinn turns to run again-

She finds herself shrieking as a foot hooks around her ankle and sends her face planting onto the floor.

"What is with you and _tripping_ me-?!"

A bad time to ask.

He glares down at her.

And she writhes on the ground. Shrinking away, curses spinning in her mind, every insult she could possibly imagine, and she gasps as she manages to sit up and-

A quick glance down and the scream that she was about to let out cuts into a dark, almost sobbing whine. It's a sound interspersed with panting and noiseless dry heaving as she fights down the bile rising in her throat. She'd always been good with gore but to see it on her own person?

Oh, her arm- her arm- her _poor arm-_

She gagged.

The Mime grinned.

All the relief from seconds before is gone. Completely gone.

"Yo… You're a real freak, you know that?"

A careful shrug.

The odd reprieve to catch her breath is not a nice one. She's backed against the wall, darkness closing in, spots in her vision, the Mime standing over her and blocking her in and making her feel so very small and so very, distinctly weak and helpless.

She thinks she might be starting to hyperventilate. Throat constricting, mind whirring, and the beating of her heart so rapid that it's making her nauseous just acknowledging it. Quinn's suddenly feeling light headed and-

The gaze is still not mocking. Not like it was before, but it's certainly delighted by the sight of her. His head tilts and he leans down until he's face to face with her, close enough that their breaths mix but far enough away that she wouldn't get the chance to throw a kick into his side again.

Dazed, half-lidded eyes meet his yellow.

" _Kehehe,_ what? Are you getting off on this or something?"

It's a hysterical sentence, tinged with a bit of actual humor that makes her feel absolutely mad. All she can really do is grit her teeth and wheeze, blood dripping down her arm, eyes fluttering as she refuses to make eye contact any longer.

Can't stand the sight of her own reflection.

Can't bear the flash of white sticking out from the middle of her forearm, a stark contrast to the deep purple and red swelling that expanded her arm; a white fire of numbness and a closed off detachment to what was undoubtedly going to require surgery. The bone is brittle, not cleanly broken, and so covered in bubbles of blood that she almost didn't recognize it for what it was. It's a harsh score that's made worse by the fact that her hand is definitely not twisted in the way she feels it should be. Much too limp and much too beaten. The break and subsequent piercing of her bone being twisted out of place had left her with noticeable deformities that both made her eyes linger and forced her gaze away. There's just- There's so much to take in.

Quinn laughs again. It sounds wet to even her own ears.

There's a brightside to this, isn't there?

He'd caused so much pain and broken it bad enough that it's not quite registering correctly anymore. Though some part fears that that's mostly a result of all the adrenaline pumping through her. She really, really does not want to imagine what happens once she calms down. Once her heart stops trying to beat out of her ribcage and stops racing so fast and loud that she can feel the surge of a headache with every thrumming beat.

-Creeping. _Creeping. **Creeping!**_

**_Run Away!_ **

Instincts scream, her body tries to respond, and yet she stays frozen like solid ice on the ground. Slipping and slipping down the slope as her eyes widen minutely and she shuts her mouth with an audible click. Unable to do anything beyond just that for a moment.

The Mime places two fingers on the pulse in her neck.

Quinn's heart stops.

 _...Oh._ That's what it feels like.

Like nothing.

The hand curls around her neck but the fingers don't remove themselves as they monitor her heart rate. The obvious threat is obvious. A vice grip, a chokehold, the shattering of her windpipe, it's so close. If she would be so lucky, no, she's familiar with the Mime's strength by this point that she knows that it will only end in one result. A broken neck.

Strange. Once again, the fear finds itself fading away at the familiarity.

(It's different. So very different. But the end result is the same so does it even matter?)

Quinn hums. "The world's not very creative is it? There's already a scar there, you know, wouldn't it be better to try it out somewhere new?" Confusion. The Mime is confused. She expected him to be. It's not as if he'd know. She still finds her eyes rolling. "There's plenty of other ways to kill someone and this is what you're going with? Talk about boring." Oh, yes, mind to mouth filter has been so successfully destroyed that she doesn't even care.

She sighs.

Well. That's that then.

She's as good as dead.

Quinn feels herself give up and apologizes to Ace in her head.

Marks herself with good luck. "Hopefully it'll be quick this time. The least you can do, you know?" She huffs and dead eyes fix themselves to the Mime's, tapping on his hand as well. Leaving a mark of bad luck on him. "There… my revenge. Wonder if you'll even get the chance to use it." She shakes her head, ignoring how his grip tightens with the action. "Oh, stop it. We both know I wasn't going to survive an encounter with you."

He looks disappointed, if she's being honest.

Like the thought of her not fighting back is enough to make him lose interest. It probably is. He'd enjoyed her struggling much more than he'd enjoyed anything else.

Quinn shuts her eyes. Counting her breaths as she waits for the inevitable. Wondering how long Ace would feel sad. He wasn't exactly the type to bounce back, more like, shove it down and let it build up until it's slowly eaten away far beyond how it should- Her lips quirk. They're similar in that fashion, aren't they?

Ah, she's sure he'll get over it. She was never supposed to be a part of this world anyways.

It's… It's not so bad.

Her bottom lip wobbled and she bit down on it to keep it from showing. Like she always tried to do when she didn't know what to think, when she was overwhelmed, trying to sort through everything inside that was just too much and all too often.

She- She thinks she was happy for awhile at least.

Shaky breath is released as the fingers around her neck slowly tighten. Choking her. Forcing gasps as her lungs burn and-

Quinn's eyes are forced closed so she doesn't get to see it when everything in the world surrounding them explodes.

…

…

There is a boy.

Pepper knows him. Recognizes him in a vague sort of way, even through blurred and teary eyes, as the one that she'd seen earlier that day. The one that had carried Salt back home and who came in with the woman who started laughing at her pretty tea-mate.

(It had been fun. She loved playing tea with new people because it had been a game her mother and her mother's friend had introduced her to- he had always brought real tea though and sometimes looked at her like she was something special, it had sort of reminded her of Spice actually- before she wasn't able to play anymore.

Pepper saw him sometimes. Around town.

And whenever she tried to invite him to play anymore he would get all sweaty and weird and he still gave her that special look sometimes but then it would disappear and he would look- _hurt, guilty, angry-_ and would run away before she could say anything more. When she asked, Cinnamon said that he was just an anxious man. That she probably made him nervous after his and her mothers falling out- especially since they never managed to make up with each other.

Pepper doesn't know why but she ends up looking up the word that Cinnamon had used in a dictionary.

Anxiety.

And then furrowed her brows at the definition and the words worry and nervousness and unease. Which all seemed to… _fit._ But it-

But it still didn't sound right.

To her. He had just looked like he was scared.

Like whenever she took the ladle out to play with Momma when she wasn't supposed to and wasn't able to get it back in time to hide it.)

The boy had given her a really warm hug before he had left, that's a detail that Pepper knows that sticks out to her, because he had seemed so awkward and so happy to receive one himself.

She can't remember his name. Not through lack of actually knowing but her head is pulsating with a headache that's making her dizzy and lethargic all at once. It's because of all the crying.

Of Cinnamon being down, Salt hurt and crying herself, of Momma- oh, poor, poor Momma who protected them and who was so, so strong- and all she can manage through overwhelming hiccups and stuttering breaths that don't quite make it to her lungs is: _"Th… Thank… Thank you…!"_

The boy seems surprised.

And then he smiles. And razor sharp teeth interspersed between normal ones have never looked so comforting before.

It's disappointing to see it fall when something like an explosion captures part of the horizon behind them.

-0-

Ace was in charge of ruthlessly tugging Tiberius along.

It wasn't as if it was hard. Actually, it was pretty surprising just how… easy it was. Because, even struggling and trying to bat his hands away, there wasn't really any strain coming from dragging him along. He pretty much tossed him under his arm and was left slightly bewildered by the absolutely _feeble_ attempts at escape.

It got him snorting.

Luffy would be dragging him down by now- grabbing onto a tree and holding on for dear life until his torso stretched one, two, five, ten, fifteen feet before he'd lose grip and send himself snapping back. Usually with a tree coming along for the ride, faster than it had any right to be moving.

"Now that's just sad." The fact that Tiberius, who was easily at least twice Ace's own age, was just… pathetically slapping and punching at him was actually pretty funny. He looked a little like a cockroach.

A waving hand clawed through his arm.

Ace's brow raised as he shrieked.

"W-What is th-this-?!"

"Devil Fruit." Is the short answer from both of them.

There has to be a record or something for just _how fast_ someone can pale in horror because, if there was, he's pretty sure Tiberius just broke all of them.

It's annoying actually.

Ace shakes his head.

And fixes his gaze on Spice as they climb the stairs and head in the direction where Kigu, presumably, still is. It helps to focus on the point where his shoulder strap connects to his sword because the yellow, leathery browns, and grey is centered around a bright spot of eye-catching teal that makes it incredibly easy to focus on. Ace is pretty sure that's part of the reason it's there- to be distracting.

He lets his eyes drift, half shadowed by the brim of his hat, and frown already tugging at his features.

Spice was tense.

Shoulders pulled up, hackles raised, and- Well. It's not _really_ a surprise that he's not hissing and snarling like the Tiger Lord ready to pounce on some particularly… bothersome prey. Any other person and Ace might've half expected him to start.

He knows enough from their, admittedly brief, interactions that the likelihood of that actually happening is somewhere in the realm of "not a snowballs chance in hell." So, not _quite_ zero but definitely getting there. Maybe if his sisters were being hurt directly in front of him but, hey, he's not planning on ever testing that theory.

"...You know, I figured you were going to fight me on this."

The intensity of his gaze certainly doesn't help Spice's mood any.

"On what."

"Coming with. If you had wanted to go with Kat then-"

"Then I would've said I was."

"You didn't ask."

"Do I need your _permission?"_

"No." His brow raised at the sudden vehemence but he didn't comment on it. "But after that conversation we had before, you know, on Nest. I'm surprised you didn't take off the moment it came down to it." The edge in his voice is not lost on Spice. "After all, you got pretty pissed at me for not staying by my brother's side." There's a certain bite there and the insinuation is enough to have Spice freezing mid-step, whipping around to turn on a cold, deadly glare. All Ace responds with is an unimpressed nonchalance. "What? _You're_ the one that accused me of abandoning my sibling by setting sail. How is this not worse than that?"

Spice opens his mouth-

And closes it with an audible click of his teeth before turning to continue up the stairs.

Well. That's one way to admit that it's _not different._ Or, it is, but what Spice is doing is much, much worse. And he knows it too.

"I- Have already failed at protecting them, haven't I?" It's not quite a whisper but it's quiet enough that Ace has to strain his ears to hear and he wasn't sure if he'd missed a few words or not but he got enough to grimace.

Now. Initially, Ace didn't set out to have a heart-to-heart. He's not that type of guy- especially not one to do it with, well, another guy. Makino? Maybe. Quinn? If she pushed it. Anybody else? _Yikes,_ no. But- Spice isn't exactly that type either. So, he takes a deep breath, and sucks it up, because, as much as he had trouble connecting and understanding other people, he _knew_ what it was like to be an older brother. "Uhh… I wouldn't say that. They're still alive, aren't they?"

That gains a slow look over the shoulder.

"Hey, trust Quinn! She knows what she's talking about."

It receives a snort. "A bit too well, don't you think?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

What is that supposed to mean?

Spice just shakes his head. "Don't worry about it." As if that does anything other than confuse him and feel a spike of worry. Not helping as he falls silent for a good amount of steps. The only noise between them coming from Tiberius's kicking and shouting that Ace only responds to by adjusting his hold on him, ignoring the yelp that comes out of it. "But that's not what I meant."

"Then what do you mean?"

"Is it…" He seems to struggle with the words, as if not knowing how to put it. "Is it not the responsibility of the older brother to take care of any threats to the younger?"

"Yeah?"

"Then how did I not already fail them?"

Ace squints, frowning. He's clearly missing something here. "I… don't get what you're saying."

"Oh, for the love of-" Tiberius hisses, which, admittedly, is not unlike a flea ridden cat, and swipes a hand through his head. Ace gives him a blank look. "Idiot! He's pissed because he didn't kill Kigu earlier, because then none of this would've happened and-!" Ace gives him a squeeze. Just enough that it chokes him off in surprise. He's already rolling his eyes a second later and shooting Spice a raised brow.

"Unfortunately, the waste of space is correct."

"...Aa."

Well, that- Ace gets that. At least.

(Thoughts briefly drift to the Bluejam Pirates but he shakes those away just as soon as they pop up.)

There's a couple other stories he can think of off the top of his head actually. None so serious as this. And Ace opens his mouth to start to, well, to overshare- before clamping it shut, lips pursing. Yeah. Even if they're not so serious, he's not sure if Spice would respond well to his and Luffy's recklessness and hijinks. Especially considering a good portion of the stories involved a crocodile or a tiger and way too much time spent in the stomach of a wild animal. Although, honestly, _any time_ spent in the stomach of a beast is a significantly _wrong_ amount.

So Ace instead decides to just shrug and offers another, "They're fine though." And it doesn't seem like Spice completely believes it but Ace gets that too- hard to believe someone's alive until you see it for yourself- so he just bulldozes onward. "You're fixing it now, aren't you?"

No answer but he does look thoughtful.

That dark look in his eyes is still there but it… doesn't have quite the same quality of edge that it'd had just a few seconds prior.

"And if you're working at it now, there's no reason to regret what you didn't do before, right? Besides, it's not like you knew this was going to happen." The words feel a little stale on his tongue, tasting like cardboard, but not in a way that makes them feel like a lie. They're just something he had trouble believing sometimes. "No one can predict the future!"

 _That_ does receive a small scoff.

Though not unfriendly.

Ace feels his grin turn a bit brighter.

Of course, that's when Tiberius decides that its the perfect moment to interrupt, looking much more sweaty and anxious than he did before. It probably has something to do with the large double doors that they've wandered upon, something that seemed much more 'presentable' than the rest of the factory had been. Ace can't help but snort.

Oh, yeah. This is definitely where they need to be. He can practically feel the ego dripping off the room.

"I s-see you've made it just fine! K-Kigu's door- just where it always is! Since- Since you're h-here you don't really need me now, do you?! S-So I'm just gonna head- head o-out-"

Ace squeezes.

Tiberius chokes.

And Spice rolls his eyes, muttering, "As if we were relying on you for directions…" Reaching down to grab Tiberius by the scruff of his neck, tugging him out of Ace's grip. It's a little funny watching him struggle and, again, oddly reminiscent of a cockroach. "Would you be so kind as to…?"

"I'm on it." Ace doesn't need to be told twice. Already taking the honors of kicking the door in, boot slamming down right next to the handle and- "Pardon the intrusion!" Already on his lips.

"H-Hey- what do you think- let me go-!"

Spice smirks a little, gaze darkening on Tiberius as he slinks a hand under his shoulder and tightens his grip. "Alright, Tibby-" Something in the man died a little at the misnomer, "-I'll let you go then," and he swallowed, throat tight.

Oh, why did he have a bad feeling about this?

"H-Hey, no! Let's talk about this," Tiberius stammers, though it's more of a shriek, "p-p-perhaps over tea?! I have an i-incredible quality of blends and-"

The whole thing takes maybe a second or two before Ace is stepping to the side to let Spice toss the older man straight through the doors and into the awaiting room. Letting them both watch as he yelped, hitting the ground in an unceremonious heap that had him quickly scrambling to try and right himself, glasses skittering across the floor.

"He-Hey, I-"

"Hit the light, Ace." Spice growls as he takes a step into the room. "And watch yourself- he's got a Devil Fruit himself."

"Oh?"

…

…

Kigu was having a rather good day, all things considered.

That new coffee maker that was all the rage nowadays that he'd made sure to order finally came, all the way from a Big Mom territory, and he'd gotten to have a little fun bullying some new recruits into putting it together for him, then- of course- there was the whole deal with sending the Mime after those pirates and co. Something which was always immensely satisfying, he did so love to see the results of the Mime's work. And then the situation with Spice, stealing more resources from Starving to make sure that the island matched its namesake, bullying some of the workers down in the filtration rooms… and now Spice, again. Apparently.

He sucks on his teeth, lips pursing. Nose crinkling slightly in barely hidden revulsion, "Oh, Tibby, it's _you._ " Making a face as the pathetic man in question was shoved to the floor of his room, just before Kigu is shutting his burning eyes as the lights get turned on. Lighting up- Well, _Spice._ As always. He was the only bastard brazen enough on this island to kick the doors to his room in.

Or, at least, he would be. If there wasn't an unfamiliar face standing next to him.

Orange cowboy hat. Freckles. Black hair. Tattoo on his arm.

Something about that description sounds familiar and his eyes narrow. That was one of the pirates, if what he heard was to be believed- which, quite frankly, Kigu was terrible with faces and descriptions so he purposely ignores the fact that he _very well_ could actually be wrong- and _thinks_ that it might be the Captain. And the scowl that etches itself across his face is noticeably deepened. "Seems the Mime's slower than usual…" He drawled, disappointment immeasurable. "A pirate's not supposed to ever find his way into my quarters." Gaze shifting back to Tiberius for want of an explanation.

What he _gets_ is a bunch of fearful sputtering.

His gaze darkens.

"Devil Fruit?" Said pirate- he bristles once he realizes that he's been barely given a glance by the newcomer- has turned to Spice with wide, curious eyes. "What kind? Is it-"

He lets his eyes gleam in delight. "Ooh~ So you believe in the legends then?" He receives twin blank looks from the pair. "Typically, you East Blue bumpkins are too witless to distinguish truth from lie, so color me impressed. I would think someone who's found their way into piracy would be too foolish to-"

Unbeknownst to him, Ace and Spice are exchanging completely flabbergasted looks, thrown for a loop as he runs his mouth and Ace shifts, finger raising, "Uhhh, actually-"

"Don't interrupt me."

A moment of silence, Ace's gaze turns flat and Spice gently lays a hand on his shoulder. "...No, no. Let him make a fool of himself. We've got a few seconds to enjoy it." Not loud enough for Kigu to hear, fortunately, and so he continues without a care despite the amused and mocking gazes settling on him.

"Seeing as this is your first time being in the presence of a Devil Fruit user-"

Oh, wow, wow. Ace's brows shot up, straight into his hairline. That's quite the, uh… ironic assumption to make.

He could practically _hear_ Quinn and Kat laughing at him.

"-allow me to educate you on the intricacies of the powerful."

It's quite the line. And incredibly presumptuous of him.

Honestly, Ace can't help but press his lips into a firm line to keep both the… well, it'd be rude to show off his bewilderment, he's sure. Ruder, still, to laugh in his face. Not that he thinks Kigu deserved politeness- oh no, the gleam of rage and disquieting annoyance starting to seep off of Spice in waves is enough to know that he's not deserving of anything from Ace, other than a fight- but he knows that he could always use practice with his manners if he was going to get good by the time he ran into Shanks the Pirate.

Kigu simply grins, unaware of their thoughts, and turns his gaze onto Tiberius with an almost zealous glee.

"Wai- Wait-! We can- We can talk about this! I-I can-"

Whatever pleading he was planning on going with is cut off abruptly.

And Ace simply stares in mounting confusion as… nothing happens? He spares a glance to Spice, only to find a look that may be a grimace on his face, and turns back. Still. There is nothing. Nothing he can see at least- His eyes narrow, watching.

Tiberius is staring emptily ahead. As if seeing something none of the rest of them can.

"...What is it? What's supposed to be happening?"

He mumbles to Spice, voice breaking the quiet in the room as Tiberius's breath hitches. And Ace is more than a little boggled to see tears beginning to prick the corners of his eyes, streaming down his face only moments later, breaths coming out faster and faster until it's clear that he's not getting as much air as he should.

Then, he chokes. And screams. A strangled thing- more shock than anything, and it's quelled almost as soon as it comes out. Buried under tears and horror.

Ace shifts uneasily from foot to foot. Spice winces.

"It's waking nightmares. A Devil Fruit that feeds off of fear."

…

…

And Tiberius-

Tiberius blinks.

There's a cup in his hands, familiar and heated ceramic cradled in his fingers. A lovely painted flower design, old and starting to crumble and flake beneath his thumbs as he nervously finds himself rubbing the outer edge. It's an easy action and one he continues with a soothing ease. The beautiful woman across from him is swirling the contents within her own clutched cup. Her dreadlocks pulled into a fanciful bun atop her head and wild freckles, black and pale both, are smattered across her cheeks and around her eyes in such a way that they make the simple browns light up as she eyes him. She's smiling, lips blowing lightly at the rim of her mug.

And watches her nails, perfectly manicured and colorful, tap on the outside.

"She has your nose, you know?"

It feels like a memory. One he so easily falls into- in the way he relaxes and watches and feels something like safety and eagerness fill him at the sight of her. Everything else… whatever he had been doing before this moment. It suddenly feels so far away that he can hardly remember it. Remember what he had been doing before.

It's… so simple after all. So familiar. And, oh so, comforting that he finds himself forgetting.

The fingers tapping, the beautiful smile, eyes that light up without scorn or judgment or petty squabbling- It feels like back then. When his heart would flutter, wonky, and a ball would form in his throat and take his breath away completely. Like he had never lived before this second. "Oh, Tibby…" she purrs, in that way that has him leaning in to listen to every lilt in her voice. The way the nickname, something he loved to hear from her mouth and hers alone, gently draws him in like a siren. "What did you put in my drink?" She breathes, like a whisper.

And he thinks he's misheard her.

"I-I'm so-sorry? What?"

Oh, why does he feel nauseous all of a sudden?

The sips he takes from his tea to try and wash the feeling away only seem to worsen it and he chokes on the liquid. It- It burns. Like acid in his stomach. A horrible, sickly, burning sensation that only grows and worsens as she gently smiles at him. And whatever safety and comfort he found in that smile shatters into pieces as the voice he once knew, playing like a song, pierces through his eardrums with a cold and deadly precision: "I said… _Tibby._ " It's spat. Slow and mocking now; a bastardized version of what it once was. _"What did you put in my drink?"_

He feels his heart stop.

And his tongue twists in his mouth, heavy like concrete.

Her drink swirls in her hand. And he can see something like crushed flower petals spill from the rim instead of liquid and his suddenly disorganized thoughts struggle to place the herbal remedy placed within the cup. It doesn't come to his mind, but he knows what it is- instinctually and instantly- without a shadow of doubt. "All for a chance at power," she laughs, it's sardonic and not something he's used to finding aimed at him, "but we both know that you could never mean anything compared to me."

He finds his mouth clamped shut, as if by glue. Eyes wide eyed and staring at the broken flowers lying across the table and ever so slowly dripping from her bloody mouth. The weight that once healthily clung to her seems to disappear with every move of her lips, every flower petal that drips- and he is frozen as she leans forward. It leaves her malnourished and hollow, almost skeleton. The ashen and grey color that takes over her seems so… unnatural on her once beautiful face.

A cold, icy chill washing over every inch of him.

"So… was it worth it?"

The blood is stuck between her teeth, lips blue and fingers darkened with the color of death. He wants so desperately to jump away- to get away- but there is suddenly no where to go. But he knows, even if he could move, he'd never escape the weight of her empty and furious gaze.

_"Was it worth what you put in my drink?"_

…

…

Spice's hand is on his sword hilt, and there is the silver gleam of a blade being pulled from its sheath. "It's activated via line of sight. He can only do one person at a time." It's why he had never been able to put up a fight before. Not when he was the only one on the island prepared to go one-on-one and there were two guard dogs he couldn't keep track of while in the midst of a battle.

Ace smirks.

Flames are already creeping over his fingers, he knows better than anyone how much flames can block vision. If not the blaze, then the smoke that would come of it. His knuckles crack in preparation. "Then we just don't let him see us, is that right?"

Ah, there's a shadow of determination on his face, one that Ace so enjoys seeing. And he pulls at the fire somewhere deep within him, knowing now- with the previous fight he'd attempted to utilize his powers in- just what he needs to really get a blaze going.

What did he have planned to call this one again?

Oh! That's right.

**_"Kagerō!"_ **

It's impressive; it's fire- and it has Kigu finding himself missing a couple eyebrows and leaving Spice with some that are definitely more than a little singed. To any onlooker, it would look like Ace had burst into a wall of fire and then jumped back, pulling ribbons and waves of fire along with him with a generous amount of ease and finesse.

To Ace, internally, he's screaming.

Because ho- holy _shit!_ \- that is way, way, way more firepower than he'd been thinking and- he stifles a yelp. It's wild, untamable, and far more ferocious than was his intent and he struggles to reign it in. Struggles to keep it from creeping over to Spice and the walls and the ceiling.

It's the complete opposite of the failed fire fist from before because, this time, he's completely overdone it and only _he_ knows that fact.

He dimly registers that his head has completely burst into flame as he stares wide eyed at his own personal brand of chaos.

Well. This. Certainly has already gotten out of hand.

"Oops."

Oh. That's a weird way for his voice to come out. It would kind of sound like he was underwater if it wasn't for how airy it was and the sounds of crackling fire. Not unlike a campfire.

 _"Oops?!"_ Spice hisses.

Kigu shrieks- immediately trying to follow the sound. "Y-You… You have Devil Fruit powers too?" He gapes, jumping back with wide eyes. The expression is quickly replaced by one of well-practiced calmness, but they would be remiss to not notice the way a nervous sweat began to collect on his brow. "Heh. No matter. A little campfire means nothing to my darkness!"

He says that. But none of them can tell much of what is going on.

"...Congratulations, Portgas. I imagine you're not used to thinking ahead but, perhaps, you could try starting sometime _today._ "

"Che." Ace expected it, he really did, but- ow, that one hurt a little. Shaking his head wildly to get rid of the flames that still clung to his face before he's squinting into the brightness that doesn't even cause spots in his vision anymore. "I'm working on it."

"Not fast enough, it seems, I've got something already." Spice fully pulls his sword out now, the flat of the blade resting against his shoulder, and a smirk spills onto his face, unbidden. "It seems that fire is pretty ineffective against you. How long does that last behind you?"

Ohhh- _Ohh._

Ace _liked_ Spice's forward thinking.

Probably a little too much.

…

…

When Kigu was a child, he lived a simple life. There was no large tragedy to shape him, no person to spur on his goals or ambition to declare to the world, and he very much expected to simply continue following in his father's footsteps- running a small business in his dreadfully small village.

But his father was young, spry, and not likely to retire any time in the near future, and so there wasn't much effort in teaching him the trade. Rather- at the urging of the village mayor, who spoke fondly of the Marine Base upon their very own island- something admittedly rare to find on the Grand Line back then- Kigu found himself applying for a simple position to pass the time and, perhaps, catch the eye of a few prettier ladies who only had eyes for boys in uniform.

It was a simple life, one that he was begrudgingly forced to find content with-

Until, one night, slightly drunk and having captured a small group of no-name pirates that had been causing trouble in one of the island's bars, he's dared to try a taste of an oddly shaped, swirly fruit that seemed out of place among the pirates' stolen goods. Not quite realizing that they had a Devil Fruit on their hands.

Not until, in a fit at being ordered to clean the toilets after someone else had skipped out on duty and gotten him in trouble for it somehow, he terrifies the Marine Captain into submission.

It's his first taste of power.

True, _oppressive_ power-

And Kigu is captivated.

A simple glance and it had the men he once cursed at behind their backs cowering, it had his father looking up to him instead of down at him like a child, it had pirates and bandits and criminals frozen at his feet as he carefully plucked at their hearts and sent them plummeting into fits of adrenaline they had no hope of escaping. He can't see their fears, not really. But something intuitively tells him the general idea-

(-spiders, heights, the dark, pirates, death-)

-and it's _wonderful._

But, one day, he notices something odd about that intuitive little notion of fear. He's been going through a lot of pirates lately, the higher-ups had wanted to see how he would fare at sea with his new powers and he was all too happy to oblige with promises of power and position to exercise his fruit freely on the accused, and it's obvious to anyone with half a brain that pirates are more common on the seas.

_(-fire, brand, stamp, mark, dragon-)_

The fears, they often blurred together, laying across peoples faces and becoming their identity, and he became so used to seeing their fears that he began to forget what their faces looked like.

But that one.

That one appeared a lot.

_(-dragon, dragon, dragon, dragon-)_

It's not until they recapture a group of escaped slaves that he puts two-and-two together.

**_(-celestial-!)_ **

And he sees what all criminals truly fear, because they cannot hide it, even so deep as in their hearts. He nearly laughs. It's so obvious. Now that he thinks about it.

Petty, disgusting, sightless excuses would always fear the ones above them. The boot above the vermin.

And the thought comes to him, as he discovers a mangled man, whose voice has been stolen and cut from his very own throat by that very boot- his body is long, much too long to be a normal humans and he figures him to be a fascinating breed between the Long-Leg and Long-Arm Tribes- that, if that was such a fear that it could plague the hearts of even grotesque creatures like his dear, bred-for-captivity Mime, then it was about damn time he found some boots of his own.

Where better to go than to the weakest sea, when a Grand Liner might as well be a god to them? All the easier when it was done at the petty urgings of the even larger boots than his own.

Ironically, a spice factory such as this, it really put his own father's small, simple ingredients stand that he was much too prideful to share, even with his own son, to shame.

Oh, yes, Kigu so did love having the bigger boot.

It was unfortunate then, as a shadow leapt from flames and all he had time to react with was a widening of his eyes, before a foot came soaring towards his face that the random thought struck him: _"This guy is, at least, two sizes bigger than me."_

And he's sent careening into the ground as an all too familiar sword swings towards his head and-

Kigu catches Spice in his line of sight.

It's hardly a flicker but he still feels it. The fear.

_(-dead, dead, dead, my whole family dead, because I was too weak-)_

Before he's forced to reel back, blinking black spots from his vision, as a fist sends him flying into his desk and he captures the orange-hatted pirate instead and begins building up from square one.

See: the Nightmare Nightmare Fruit plays off simple fears, initially, because it works off the targets own mind and thoughts, building on invasive and intrusive feelings that they can't really control. The more familiar he is with a target, the easier it is to dredge up the worst of it. That's why Spice and Tiberius and the islanders were so easy. And why, when he used his fruit powers on Ace, the first thing he gleaned was fairly simple- Something the target was used to feeling, something so obvious or intrinsically part of them that it was easy to pull up.

_(-fire-)_

And Kigu.

Kigu _laughed._

Hard, so hard that it hurt his stomach.

_"Fire?!"_

He shrieked, hands clasping at his face as he gasped for breath. "You're afraid of fire?! W-With _your_ power?!" Ace can't hear him. Of course he can't. He's too busy forgetting where he was, looking tense and hair standing on end as he sees something even Kigu himself can't see. Looking not unlike a pissed off cat. "That's hilarious! That's the funniest thing I've heard in _years-!_ "

Spice spares a curious glance to Ace, to the blaze around them, and promptly decides to forget about it- still fumbling from the nightmare that had begun at the edges of his vision, ebbed away before it could begin to eat away at him- after all, it was none of his business and Kigu would only be able to laugh for so long.

His face hardens as Kigu looks on it glee.

"What else is there?! What else is there?! Tell me, show me, I want to know what _breaks you-!"_

"Hey."

Kigu pauses before he can begin to layer his fruit-powers on Ace, pulling more and more from the recesses of his brain, now that he'd warmed him up.

Spice glares down at him, gaze cold.

"Did you forget that you were dealing with more than one opponent for once?"

…

…

Tiberius snaps from his nightmare with a suddenness that has him gasping for fresh air, only to find it sorely lacking. There is smoke and fire and he's missing hair and his clothes are burnt and- It's a queasy thought. That he had been so caught up by his own fears that he would have burned alive if not for Kigu releasing him from the confines of his own mind or trapping someone else up in their own.

He takes one look at the factory burning around him, hearing the echo of a voice choking him and deafening him and he sobs.

_"N-N-No… i-it wasn't wo-worth it…!"_

Not if this was his result.

It takes not a single second for him to leap to his feet and run from the weight of his sins.

…

…

Spice would see him beheaded.

Kigu is not the root of his problems but he is most certainly a rat poison that someone has snuck into an already bland dish.

And there isn't much that can be done after that, unless, of course, you're prepared to snuff out the source.

Spice is prepared for that.

He would not describe himself to be a killer. It was not often that his blade was turned towards men. But he had seen his own fair share of fights, made his own mistakes amidst battle, and, when he was younger, lacked the control and skill to properly stay his blade- accidents happen, they always do, especially to fumbling newbies. And it had been something that had always brought him great guilt, to the point- for a number of years- he had contemplated seriously putting down the sword.

But you can't get better if you don't practice, don't expect to make mistakes, like any new recipe or new challenge that entered his family's kitchen at their mother's urging to rise to the occasion- he pushed onwards.

Spice was not a killer. And he had never thought himself capable of murdering another in cold blood, not when he was younger.

He's older now.

Still sometimes, somehow, he manages to believe that.

This is not one of those moments.

His sword cuts through air and fire, leaving a noticeable gap in the flames, as Kigu nimbly ducks and dodges back- jumping to get out of his range even as he bulldozes on, refusing to give him an inch because he knows, if he gives him the chance, he'll take a mile- and there is a scoff of disappointment escaping him before he can stop himself.

He really couldn't help but think about how good Kigu would look with his head separated from the rest of his body.

"Pretty pathetic, isn't it-?" Kigu growled, lunging to his desk and pulling a sword out from where it was hidden beneath, "Having to get help from some piece of shit pirate. I thought you had more honor than that."

He blocks a swipe of Spice's sword and Spice is happy to find that the blade nearly shatters beneath his strength, only surviving due to him trying to parry at the last second.

"Should have known that the disgrace in your family line didn't stop at your _mother."_

Oh. He shouldn't have said that. Spice's jaw clenches and it's as if a fire is blazing in his eyes, as he presses down harder on Kigu. Enough so that the man feels a glimmer of nerves bundle up in his stomach. "What do _you_ know of honor?"

"Heh. More than you! I'm a Marine after all-"

"Ex! Even they were sick of you!"

Kigu snorts. "Do you really think the government is so stupid as to have Marines the face of a Celestial Dragon organization? That's how you catch the attention of those parasitic revolutionaries!" There is a pause and his gaze slowly shifts back over towards Ace; the action has Spice instinctively following the look but he's quick to focus back, listening to Kigu's sword creak and scream in protest against his onslaught. "Not only fire… But a pirate afraid of hurting those he cares about! This trash you brought along is _hilarious!"_

Spice strikes out with a leg.

It receives a grunt and a wheeze that descends into laughter.

"I really should be thanking you… for this opportunity. Bringing a pathetic pirate like him along, you really make it too easy sometimes."

"...He's the furthest thing from pathetic."

"How's that? From what I'm seeing he's a disappointment even among pi-"

"He's not you." Spice snarls. "As far as I'm concerned, you're the prime example!"

Kigu's face noticeably darkens.

"Oh, enough of that then."

And Spice blinks to another place around him.

Entirely unaware that Kigu has just run him through the ribs.

…

…

Ace smells fire. It seeps into his nostrils and makes him gag. Makes his heart rate spike and jump, shoulders tensing. Suddenly and impossibly overwhelmed by the scent that sends blood pounding in his ears and constricting his throat to the point that hardly any air can reach his lungs. A cold numbness settles in his chest that only makes it harder to focus, leading only to shivering and pins and needles that bite at his fingers and toes.

It pulls at his thoughts, unbidden, and tugs him towards a recent memory of something just a few nights ago, and Ace blinks once to find himself staring at Quinn. And, suddenly, it's as if she was never _not_ there, right in front of him and blanks that he wasn't thinking about are filled in before he can come to terms with his changing surroundings.

"Ace?"

He stares, dazed.

Quinn shifts, brows furrowing as she stares. "You look tired… you okay?" He feels himself reply but doesn't know what he says. Just knows that it has her visibly relaxing and a teasing smirk on her face.

They're in a familiar hallway. One with cluttered floors and boxes and Quinn is dressed in pajamas that he knows aren't hers and it's hard to see because the only light comes from the moon outside the hallways windows.

He opens his mouth, closes it. Confused. "You're evil, Quinn." He says, not knowing why, but it gets a familiar laugh bubbling out of her as she rolls her eyes.

"Oh, please, you're into it."

And she playfully goes to punch his arm.

Something in him shouts at the action and Quinn-

Quinn hisses. A yelp that he remembers jumps from her lips, _"Aa-!"_ And that smell of fire is thick, back again, and its paired with burning flesh and-

Flames jump out of him.

Quinn… Quinn is _screaming._

_Because of him!_

"No- no, I-" He jumps, horror filling his voice. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-" He goes to try and help her, hands fluttering over her form but not touching and she curls in on her arm with a terrified shriek. And he scrambles back.

She whips up, eyes filled with tears she grits her teeth against peeling, burning skin that's slowly corroding up her neck and creeping onto her face. _"I- I'm_ the evil one?! Look what you've done to me-!" Her voice cracks as she sobs in pain. "You… You _monster_ … why would you… you're _burning me!"_

He comes awake.

The shriek of _"You're **burning** me!"_ Echoing in his brain.

And the scent of fire is still there, impossibly strong and something inside him lurches, nauseous and sick, and wants to throw up his defenses and-

Ace explodes.

In the factory's favor, the sprinkler system comes on.

And Ace is snuffed, very similarly to a light itself, and gasps for breaths as he dizzily takes in the sight of Spice being impaled by Kigu's sword.

…

…

Tiberius is running down the hall, snot and tears trailing down his face, when the factory's sprinkler system turns on.

It's about damn time as well.

Fire has been following him, hounding and nipping at his heels like flames from hell preparing to rip him to shreds. The panic that corrodes him leaves him stumbling and scuffed, hands scraped and burnt from where he fell to the floor and struggled to pick himself back up, nearly falling down a flight of stairs in his race to escape.

The first thing that hits him, once he finds himself frighteningly close to where he had been setting up the explosives that had taken him so long to put together, is that-

Water and oil don't mix, do they?

And he stares in muted horror as the sprinklers turn on above him and oil splashes and spreads and fire is creeping so much faster than he ever could have expected and-

Fire reaches a wick and his world explodes.

-0-

The world is a blur.

Numbness and ringing in her ears.

There is a distant memory of waking up to smoke and fire, as if she'd blinked and the world had gone to hell, the register of the lack of luck marked on her skin and the sudden realization that she should be dead, but isn't. Despite every instinct telling her otherwise. As a walking corpse, she somehow manages to stand, coughing weakly against the smoke, and the large, lithe body that had been covering her falls off with a thump. It's less of a blur then. Especially with the thought that, if he hadn't been there, hadn't been as big as he was, he wouldn't have been able to protect her from the majority of the disaster that surrounds them.

The bad luck she'd left on him is gone. And not as a result of him being dead, she knows. He's still alive then. Chest heaving, back marred by blood and burns, and unable to breath through the wood shoved into a portion of his lungs.

A blur of memory.

There's her knife. Collected and found amongst debris, the metal heated enough that a wisp of steam lifts into the air.

Walking. Stumbling around. Trying to support herself.

Quinn remembers forcing herself down the stairs. Finding a cowering man and Den Den Mushi that panic with the scent of sulfur and danger in the air. She remembers screaming at him until it feels like something in her throat has ripped, forcing him to collect a snail with instructions that she can't really remember other than knowing instinctively that he'd grabbed the one that would prevent any and all calls going in and out. They're stumbling back up the stairs after that, she's using him as a support as other people try to scramble up the singular corridor that is sure to collapse before long.

They pass by where she left him.

Distantly, she realizes that he's dead now. That there are wounds gouged into him that weren't there before. It's a strange blur and she feels weightless. Unable to remember if he'd still been alive before she left but knowing, if she looked to her hip, she would find her knife red and stained in its sheath. Yet she is stepping over his corpse with nothing but nonchalance as she continues up the crumbling buildings stairs and grows closer to the rising smoke and the source of the flames before-

Light. Fresh air.

The man with the snail is being dragged along and…

Someone is calling her. Grasping her shoulder and shouting. Huh. They sound worried. Horrified, almost, actually. And she turns to find red hair and big brown eyes that she can't place but somehow look so incredibly familiar that she shoves the man into them and finds herself giving even more instructions she can't quite recall and- and-

Quinn vomits a ways away.

There is the taste of ash, blood, and iron in her mouth and her stomach is emptied all too soon. Not surprising, she hadn't eaten much of anything in the last few days. Hadn't been hungry. And now she doesn't know if she'll ever have an appetite again because she feels so, so gross.

She blinks black dots from her vision away.

That person is back again and cold, wet hands grasp her cheeks and pull her face up to meet their own. They are speaking, she can hear them, but the words are static in her ears. Incomprehensible. And she blinks emptily as nothing happens and-

"-Ace is probably still fighting but-"

She feels her breath hitch a little.

"-Cinnamon sent to go find you a doctor so hang tight until then-"

Oh. Is that… Is that her own heartbeat that's roaring in her ears? Making her chest feel heavy, making her lightheaded, making her sick and shivering despite the fact that she's definitely not cold.

"-you look bad, Quinn. You look really, really bad and I don't know what to _do._ J-Just talk to me, okay? I can figure it out if you help me-"

"Ace?"

She rasps, slowly.

He- _Kat_ freezes.

"Where's…" Her tongue feels like a brick in her mouth. "Wh-Where's Ace…?"

"I-" Kat seems to be at a loss for words. Looking like a kicked puppy, not knowing what to do. How to help. "He's inside. With Spice. Still fighting. I- Quinn?"

"And you-" she slurs, "You okay?"

"I- Yes, of course, compared to you- I barely got hit-"

She nods. Once.

"Q-Quinn?!"

And stalks back into the building before she even fully registers that she's moved. Chasing the heat of flames up stairs and corridors, until she sees broken doors and Spice collapsed with a sword inside him, his back to her and fire all around them despite the sprinklers trying their hardest above-

She can hardly manage to breathe.

Can hardly see even.

But she knows that bright orange hat from anywhere.

…

...

Ace hisses.

"What the hell was that?"

His foot is placed on Kigu's neck, crushing his windpipe but still- the man somehow manages to laugh in his face. "You- You think you can scare me, someone pathetic like _you-_?!" He wheezes. " _You_ with your childish fears- _grk?!_ "

The heel of his boot digs and cuts him off.

But that dark look comes over Kigu's face again and-

Ace leaps away, as if burned, even if, logically, he knew that was impossible now.

Because, for just a moment, beneath his boot, broken and bleeding, Kigu's face turned into someone elses-

Spice snaps awake, spitting out blood.

-and all Ace had seen was his bloody, baby brother with wide, betrayed eyes staring up at him and a terrified whisper that he never, _never_ wanted to hear directed at him, not in his voice. Not like _that._ " _A-Ace…!_ "

"Y-You…" He gapes, cold fury belated by shock. " _Ba- Bastard._ This is… This isn't a fight to you! This is- This is a _joke-"_ It's a mockery of a fight.

A bullet rips through his stomach- the skin of his front and back breaks open, hardly more than a flesh wound, but as water from the spouts drips into it, it becomes harder for his body to reconstruct- and Kigu grins. "Oh, it _is._ It really is." Another bullet tears into his shoulder. Once again, hardly doing more than a spot of blood that bursts with a small flame on its exit.

Well.

Ace isn't laughing.

Face shadowed by the brim of his hat, face lit by flames and water sending up sparks and smoke as it sprinkles onto his shoulders. He looks almost demonic, he's sure. "...I'm gonna kill you."

Kigu is undeterred.

"I'll break you first."

Ace lunges. And is trapped somewhere else once again.

_(-he fears not being strong enough to protect his brother, not strong enough to fight against the world that killed his best friend-)_

Spice growls, animalistic, and rips the very sword that pieces him out from between his ribs with a shout that echoes long enough in the room that, when Kigu receives his own sword to his shoulder and captures him in another nightmare just before Spice's broadsword can cleave him in half, Ace catches the tail-end of the word, _"Switch!"_ And immediately catches onto the idea he was going for.

(-Spice sees his sisters fall sick and rot away, unable to eat no matter what he tries and just an echo of what they once were-)

Ace grabs Kigu's desk and tosses it into his face, foot slamming into the edge of it and sending him flying back alongside it. He shouts just before eyes fixate on him again, _"Switch!"_

_(-the whole world is against him-)_

Spice brings his broadsword downwards and the desk is cut cleanly in two, the tip of his blade catches Kigu's nose on its descent. "Switch!"

(-there is no one left-)

Ace punches with flames and even with the water snuffing it out, they still somehow manage to reach. "Switch!"

_(-but none of that matters, not unless the ones that do matter don't want him anymore, not unless they see him for what he really is-)_

"Switch!"

(-he is alone-)

"Switch!"

_(-they hate him-)_

"Switch!"

(-he is _alone-)_

_"Switch!"_

_(-he is alone-)_

_"ENOUGH!"_

Kigu screams it with enough ferocity that it does cause them to pause, if only to catch their breath and nurse their own wounds as he stands in the center of the collapsing room.

Spice is the one currently entrapped within his own head. The most injured of the two as well, he's further back as Ace had sprung forward to land a right hook. They're both bleeding, bullet wounds and piercings, but none of that belies the exhaustion that they both feel like static beneath their skin- the pumping adrenaline and the emotional and mental carnage that their forces to run through even though it feels like their a mile under a swamp of old and new traumas alike.

Something behind them, probably the scaffolding above, collapses with a crash and crackle.

"You path… pathetic… pieces of shit with your basic fears…" Kigu growls. "Loneliness! _Abandonment!_ I can't even tell your faces apart anymore-!" The words are spat out quite literally, blood dribbling down his chin, and he sways where he stands- having been unable to defend against their endless onslaught. Not forever, not when there were two of them, not when neither of them refused to crumble first.

Ace doesn't really understand what he's saying but he feels like Spice would and part of him feels guilty that he's not coherent.

Because, from the beginning, this had been _his_ fight. Not Ace's.

He tilts his head, not listening to Kigu's words.

But the moment he drew up faces and illusions of people he shouldn't have- Ace refused to step away. Refused to allow someone else the satisfaction of seeing this through, no matter what stake they had in it, because he was selfish enough just to steal the credit and enjoyment of a finishing blow.

"-disgusting vermin, I refuse to let you destroy my-"

He draws up his failure from before.

Of a fist of flame that had been pathetic on its first attempt but-

_**"Hi-"** _

-this time-

_**"-Ken!"** _

He wasn't going to reign it in.

Ace holds a wildfire in his hand and as he clenches it-

He let's it expand.

Until it's _burning the **world.**_

_(-the scent of fire had never seemed so beckoning before-)_

"What?" Ace slurs between sharp, high pitched gasps for breaths. There's a thick wheeze that escapes him but he somehow manages to swallow it down. "Can't take the heat?"

Before he falls forward onto one foot, barely managing to catch himself, as some part of his brain registers the fact that the fire around him is suddenly too much. The floor collapses and, distantly, he thinks he can hear someone screaming for him but it's no use- the majority of his consciousness fades and then he's falling.

The last thing that he catches a glimpse of is a familiar hand grasping his wrist and the heavy gasps of someone worriedly trying to placate him- one that isn't Spice's. "I got you- I got you, Ace, don't worry- I'm here, I'm here-"

Ha. Stupid. Why would she want to help him?

The final bits of consciousness slip away alongside the small smile on his face as he goes completely limp. Just missing the burning floor collapse beneath the struggling, panicking Quinn and a bloodied Spice reaching to grasp them both and pull them from the wreckage surrounding them.

…

...

Quinn remembered reading somewhere that canonically Ace was described as the sun.

She'd never really put much thought into it, it was just a small detail, miniscule really, and didn't seem to have any purpose other than to pull at the heartstrings of the fandom. That or it was a wink to his Devil Fruit being, you know, literal fire. But she'd digress- in all honesty, Quinn had forgotten about it. There wasn't much to think, at least, Quinn never thought so.

It was useless to her.

Especially considering that the first time she'd heard it she, admittedly, didn't get it. At face value there wasn't much to actually explain it, not in her mind, the Ace she'd known was a typical tsundere. A character with daddy issues and a brother complex. A loveable character on paper, sure, but beyond that, well, Quinn was never one to get attached to characters in a book. So she'd taken the information lightly and filed it away in a dusty cabinet to not be touched for some time.

Though, there did seem to be some weight to it now.

At the time, when everything was just a book to be read and enjoyed, Quinn had seen the sun as simply as its definition allowed. A fiery mass, a star, something that lights up everyday with light and warmth.

Connecting that to the freckled face that would attempt to, on multiple occasions, leave a young kid to die in a myriad of horrible ways was hard. The sun was… not the comparison she would've made. Not even close. And she would've probably been fair in that determination.

Except, it wasn't as simple and as dumbed down as Quinn had initially believed. Maybe if she'd actually put some thought to it she would be less surprised than she was now, but something told her that it wouldn't have changed anything.

See, there was something that Quinn had missed. To Quinn the sun was a bright light at the end of the tunnel, warmth on a cold, lonely afternoon, and something that spread through the early mornings; bright and demanding of attention.

The sun was all the things she had said, yes, but it was also so much _more_ than that.

It could be your warmest friend on the beach- or it could be your cruelest executor on the barren desert sands.

The sun was hellfire to those who dared to tempt it.

And it was _burning._

Ace had been scorched by fire, it boiled through his veins and curdled his bones, touched by heat that didn't just whimper along his skin but screamed its presence.

"Woah…" Quinn couldn't help but gasp, taking a step back at the wave of heat that assaulted her from all directions.

They had gotten too close to the heart of the blaze, approached too quickly and with a faulty plan of escape that only seemed to falter the longer she moved. Like Icarus, the waxing trepidation was beginning to become a struggle.

The fight at the epicenter had gone on for far too long and everything was falling down around them; the walls, the floor, the building. It couldn't be described as simply burning anymore. It was too dark and too bright all at once, it was suffocating, it was like walking through a rain of fire while Hell licked at your heels, it was-

An **inferno.**

The sun stood at the center of it all as everything came crashing down around them, his back bare, his face bloodied, but with a final hit to end it all. Ace staggered on his feet, falling forward before just barely managing to catch himself and remain standing. That is, until, like all things eventually do when they're on fire, wood burned and the floor fell out from under him.

"ACE!" Thoughts of escape were thrown haphazardly out the window as she rose to catch him.

And the wax in her wings melted.

…

…

Quinn sucked in a choked sigh of relief as Spice tossed her on the ground next to Ace, the man is coughing into his shoulder as his hands shake and the smoke inhalation tries to get to his lungs. The factory- and the immediate surrounding buildings- collapsing in on themselves behind them. The fire strong and bright and blazing into the evening air.

She coughed.

They were covered in ash and dust, so much so that rubbing her face to get rid of it only seemed to make it worse. It was hard to even see her skin beneath. And her own lungs were stinging with whatever smoke she might have accidentally taken in.

But they were alive.

They were fine.

Quinn laid back and pretended that the numbness in her arm, something that had spread and swollen all the way up to her shoulder, meant nothing. Because all she wanted to do was sit down and just-

_Breathe._

Ace coughed lightly next to her a couple seconds later, eyes popping open. Looking more than a little delirious and out of it, holding on by just a thread. Grey eyes seemed way, way too bright- contrasted by the darkness of smeared ash. And he didn't seem to be as affected by smoke as they were. Because, where their voices were rough with every breath taken in, his was smooth and light, as if he had never been anywhere he shouldn't.

She reached over and tugged his hat off for him, placing it on his chest so it wasn't being smashed against the ground.

"It's okay, Ace, you can go to sleep now."

"...Mn'kay."

He simply nods and closes his eyes. Whatever tension that had been keeping him up, seeping away in waves.

Apparently having held on by nothing but sheer force of will, otherwise emotionally and physically drained to the point where all he wanted to do was sleep. Eyes heavy, the smell of fire in the air, of burning, both human and otherwise, with the addition of artificial fear gripping at the edge of his heart-

Ace falls into fitful sleep. Memories blending in with nightmares.

-0-

He smells burning flesh.

(It wrinkles his nose and makes him want to cover his face until it goes away. He used to love the smell of fire but, now, he never seemed to be able to stand it.)

There's heavy breathing blowing in his ear, close and warm and a little high pitched, and even though he wants to- wants to turn and check up on the person wrapped around his back like a koala, he doesn't. He can't. Too focused on trying and failing to ignore the chaffing and pain of burns that litter his body, trying to rid himself of the fear of failing and of letting someone die because of him. Eyes fixed firmly ahead, on the stretching shadows and the orange that paints the scenery and-

There is a flash of steel.

Bluejam is screaming at them.

And the whole scene bathes in red, too harsh, too dark, to just be fire- it seeps into the ground like an all too familiar liquid and the breathing in his ear hitches in fear and… and the only thing keeping him going is the knowledge that, if he fails- _if he fails!_ \- then Dadan will be next, then all the other bandits, and then-

He sucks in a breath and somehow manages to _not_ start hacking up a lung.

-then _Luffy._

Someone is screaming. He tries to not think about how they're being burned alive.

Something familiar flashes in front of him, and he is moving in a way that he knows he had, at some point, done before. It's too familiar and filled with a weird sense of deja vu that has him almost numb to what plays out in front of him. Because he knows this fight. Like the back of his hand. Knows every mistake he made, every time he fumbled, knows every attack before it happens; an all too familiar dance.

He had nightmares about this fight. Though, really, they were more along the lines of memories.

He watches as Dadan takes the hilt of a sword to her temple and, as she falls, sees himself leap onto her back and jump off it, gaining height to slam the remains of his broken pipe into Bluejam's head until he finally, _finally_ goes down. Each hit bloodier than the last. Each one bringing him further and further to his knees. Until blood mixes with bone fragments and brain matter and-

(It was always much harder to hold onto his pipe properly after that. He couldn't bring himself to swing it at Luffy after the fact. Not when it reminded him so fervently of the _blood_ and _killing-_ )

And Ace doesn't let himself worry about him anymore. "Oy, Dadan, are you out already?!" He shouts it, voice quivering with what must sound like rage, but he knows- thoughts running a mile a minute, how filled with fear he really was.

_Please don't be dead. Please be okay. Please be okay. He can't lose her- not her too-_

He's shoved out of the way and Ace watches in horror as she uses her body to protect against the blade that slashes upwards, a somehow still alive Bluejam howling as he grips his partially caved in skull, and-

Ace feels sick at the sight. Like a bucket of ice has been dumped over his head. "No! _Stop!_ " But he's too late because she's shoving Bluejam away with all her might, tackling him. And all Ace can do is watch as they fall into the flames and disappear completely. _"Da- Dadan!"_

And Ace is-

Ace is alone.

Something in the memory has changed but he's too scared and afraid to figure out _what._

For a long time, there is nothing. Just that disgusting, horrible feeling carving a pit in his stomach, deeper and deeper as the flames only continue to rise. He's too small to try and get through, to try and push and shove the burning wood out of the way to get to them. His hands burn. He doesn't care. "Dadan! Dadan! Hey!" It's weird. There's no more screams in the distance. It's like all sound has been sucked away, all except his echoing voice-

He has to jump away as a structure comes crashing down. Completely cutting him off from Dadan.

"H-Hey, please, Da- Dadan, don't be- _don't be gone-!"_

His voice cracks.

There is no answer.

There's just the horrible smell of burning.

And then there's a snap.

And he's standing somewhere else. Still surrounded by suffocating fire and death but it's like air has been breathed into his lungs because- "Ace! Ace!" Luffy. It's Luffy. Calling out to him.

He turns around.

Dogra and Mogra. They're on the ground. Burnt husks of darkened flesh that makes Ace want to throw up and Luffy is- Luffy is-

"Help… me…!"

(-the pipe in his hand is broken and bloody with remnants of something that he can't bring himself to regret but only feel disgusted by; Dadan is broken and beaten and there is fire all around them, dying people all around them, who's only real sin was existing in a land that only those touched by heaven were allowed to see, and Ace is alone-)

There's a bullet wound and dripping red and there's a piece of burning wood holding him down. Trapping him.

Burning rubber is an even worse smell than burning flesh.

Ace shakes. "Lu… Luffy!" Running forward and beginning to try and lift him up, fingers burning and flesh boiling and no matter how hard he tries it doesn't seem to move even an inch. "No, no, no-! I got you-! I got you-!"

(-Ace is supposed to be alone, that's how it works, that's how it's _always_ worked, s-so why is Luffy- _why is Luffy here?!)_

Luffy is weeping.

Ace screams.

There is that strange, all encompassing silence again. Only it's not his voice this time that echoes. Breath raspy, high pitched, like the one that had been in his ear before, Luffy's voice is tense with pain and whimpers. Sobs that seem to reverberate. "A-Ace…"

"I'm here, Luffy. I'm here. I'll get you out, I promise, I just need to get a grip on-"

"...w-why did you kill Sabo?"

His heart stops.

"You left him behind. Are you- Are you leaving me behind too?" He whimpers, hiccupping. Ace gapes and takes an unwanted step back, collapsing. "T-That's why you left, isn't it? Why you're leaving me-"

Ace scrambles back.

It feels like his chest is being ripped open.

And he watches- horrified- as Luffy's face seems to collapse in on itself, still crying, like wood in a fire, disintegrating into nothing but ashes and tears. " _-no, no, no, no, no-!_ " Ace can't- He clutches at his chest, trying desperately to breathe but he can't- _he can't-_

He knocks into something as he backs away and, suddenly, he's no longer as small as he was and he can suck in a deep, shuddery breath that fills his lungs so completely that he nearly chokes on the air itself.

"Ace?" A surprisingly gentle voice asks, crouching down next to where he'd fallen. "Are you okay?"

It's Quinn.

Looking like she always does. Completely unaffected by the fire and the flames around them, and even those seem to fade in her presence. An air of calm that has him finally able to sort through his racing thoughts and calming his heartbeat.

"L-Lu-Luffy, he's-"

"You're crying." She frowns. And he flinches as her hand comes up to card through his hair. The touch- it's so familiar, so real. Her other hand rubs circles on his back and curbs away the feeling of vomiting, of being sick. "Hey, it's okay, Ace. I said I got you, remember?" She smiles. In that quirky way that pulls at the corner of her lips and makes him think that she hasn't smiled a lot over the years.

"Lu- Luffy, was hurt- I saw him-"

She laughs. It's bigger than the hidden snickers he's used to and isn't full blown like when she can't contain it- it feels out of place, but not mocking. And somehow it helps calm him down, even though it shouldn't.

"I-I-"

"Hm? What is it, Ace?" Quinn laughs again, still sounding so out of place, like she isn't listening to a word he says, even as she tucks some of his bangs behind his ear and her thumb glides across his cheek to wipe his tears away. He's struck by how gentle she is, how soft her hands are, and he swallows nervously, "Why are you crying?" She asks, head tilting.

There's something wrong here. With this image. He's just not sure what to say and when he opens his mouth, no sound comes out.

Quinn huffs a laugh and her thumb presses into the skin just beneath his eye. It-

Her head tilts a little further.

_Hurts._

"Is it because you deserve this?"

Ace startles awake.

Eyes snapping open to darkness, heart beating rapidly in his chest, as he lurches upward and tries to ignore the sick feeling. The disgust in his mouth and-

He blinks. His eyes feel wet.

"Shi… Shit…" And he goes to try and rub them, but finds that there's a weight on one of his arms and- He sucks in a surprised breath. "...Quinn?"

She's asleep. That much is obvious. One hand curled around his and partly using his arm as a pillow, the other splayed across his lap in an oddly straight manner and- he blinks. She has a cast on. It's only really on her forearm but there's bandages all the way up past her bicep and buckles criss-crossing from her fingers to elbow, acting as a sort of brace. With her so curled into his side, all he can really do is freeze in an attempt to not jostle her any further and stare at her with wide eyes. The… the words seem so far away, so out of character now that he was looking at her that he can't help but feel guilty that he had even dreamt them- dreamt of her saying them.

He shakes his head.

_Is it because you deserve this?_

He swallows.

But it's not as if she'd be wrong if she actually did.

"Hnnm, okay… _okay…"_

All of _that_ aside, she'd caught him. He barely remembered it now. But he knew that it was, somehow, impossibly, _her_ that had first reached into the depths of his own inferno to pull him out.

Ace made sure not to wake her but he couldn't help but bury his face in his free hand and let out a small laugh. "Chehehe… I really made you do all the work, didn't I?" He mumbles in sheer disbelief. "You weren't even meant to be there and yet- That's… That's amazing, Quinn…"

There's a second where he squeezes her hand back and grins to himself. Not knowing what he could possibly say. He didn't think he deserved a crewmember like her.

Ace glances around the dark room and corrects himself.

Like _them._

Kat lays, sprawled across the floor like a starfish. Mouth wide, teeth gleaming, and drooling more than a little.

And Spice is-

He straightens, swallowing. "...You know there's a spot for you, if you want it."

Spice is leant up against the door to the room, wrapped in his own healthy amount of bandages. His sword sheathed, laying against his shoulder and between his legs, which are unceremoniously splayed out in front of him. The only response he regales him with are his dark eyes blinking open to stare and a simultaneous, contemplative hum.

They meet each other's gazes for a long moment.

"If she had not been there," he finally speaks, "then I would not have been able to get to you in time. I was still stuck in Kigu's Devil Fruit when you fell."

"So?" If Ace rubs his thumb over the back of her hand at that, that's his business. "You got out of it in time to grab us afterwards, didn't you?"

It gets a low huff that's a little too irritated to be a sigh.

"...Your sleep. You had nightmares."

Ace starts.

It's not a question.

"How did you…?!"

He waves a hand, "A Devil Fruit like Kigu's… it lingers. No matter how small the timeframe of its actual effects. It gets the mind trapped in the wrong headspace. It's why I haven't slept this past day, not if it can be helped."

Ace… grits his teeth. "How long?"

"For the time you spent under its effects? Day or two at best. Myself? A week, tops. For our 'friend' Tiberius, however… He's looking at a month or so."

" _A-_ A month?!"

"There's a reason why no one on this island wanted to fight Kigu."

It's not that he cares for the wimpy older man but, Ace shivers, the thought of being forced to deal with nightmares for so long was not a pleasant one.

Especially ones… of that level.

_Is it because you deserve this?_

"Wait, hang on, he used it on you more than he did on him, right? Shouldn't you be affected worse?"

"Technically, yes. I, however, am not a wimp."

Well, that answers that question.

"Che. Is this your way of trying to reassure me?"

"...Assume whatever you want."

Ace felt his lips quirk upwards as Spice stood and left the room, casting one last, lingering look at it's occupants before he shut the door after him.

Huh. It seems that he'll be finding out whether or not he has a new crewmate later on.

But, his hand gently squeezes warm fingers clasped in his own, something tells him that luck is on his side with this one.

…

…

When Quinn wakes up, it's to Ace half dozing off and half flitting his gaze across the room, her hand tangled in his and being held tight enough that it was bordering on uncomfortable. And, bleary, blinking sleep from the corner of her eyes, and more then a little delirious from the incredible amount of painkillers she'd been dosed with, she meets his gaze and all she can think to say is: "Did you tell Kat to bury all his feelings deep down inside?"

_"Geh!"_

-0-

"If I hear so much as _one_ snail, I'm staging a murder, got that?"

There's a decent amount of irony in this, Salt thinks, shooting a glare at the people who she is sure only want to make calls to escaped family and co. to tell them the good news. That the factory has fallen. But she refuses to chance it.

"We've got a good thing going but I won't have anyone ruining it just because they got a bit teary eyed!" She huffs. "If you have someone hiding on Starving, you can grab a boat and sail over there! I'm not letting anyone try and send a picture or location of the people who saved us, so suck it up."

From being unable to make a call to being responsible for making sure not a single signal goes out, yes, Salt sees the irony.

Since Quinn had grabbed the snail responsible for disrupting the frequencies, Salt had been putting it to good use as soon as she was pointed in the right direction- she would hate for it to land itself in the hands of a Marine sympathizer, of which she was sure there were few, but she didn't like the possibility. So she removed it from the equation by taking control of the situation herself. Even if she, while doing so, had to sit through a doctor checking over her injuries and her reset shoulder- surprisingly, Quinn had done a fairly good job, it had just been shoved a bit too forcefully and gotten exacerbated in all the running and hype to the point that the swelling had refused to go down, which was partially Salt's own fault- with enough painkillers that the pain was nothing but a dull ache now.

Compared to the injuries Quinn had sustained though… Salt grimaced. She had been the one to get off lucky. There had been talk, she'd overheard, of possibly having to amputate the pirates lady arm. Which, she could definitely see _why_ there was a chance of that, having caught sight of the injuries to the woman- she'd hardly been able to stomach it. In all her years, admittedly few, she had never _seen_ someone with such a horrible, horrible break before.

It'd taken some shouting from Kat- who looked about to cry once he heard the extent of the damage- intimidation from both Spice and Cinnamon, and implying more than they should that she was one of the saviors'-

Ugh, a fact which they were trying to hide, damn it!

-before doctors set to work. Doctors that didn't have the experience necessary but were determined enough to try.

"It was a horrifying injury. I'm not- I can't imagine how much pain she was in. Though, given her… obvious past, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, since you seem close to her Mister Katsura, we think it's pretty safe to assume she has an incredibly high pain tolerance. Honestly, I think she went so far onto the deep end of the pain scale that her brain just stopped registering it-"

Salt's not sure of the mechanics behind reconstructing a splintered bone, piercing outside of a person's own skin and a hand twisted in a direction that is _just_ wrong enough to be noticeable- she'd have to find a book or maybe three on it- but hell if she's not astounded by the results the doctors had somehow managed.

"-only a small portion was shattered, the rest was mostly out of place, but we managed to reconstruct the remains and reinforce it with a bit of metal-"

It wasn't quite a miracle, especially since, if they had had qualified personnel, then it would have been far more assuredly a successful surgery, but it might as well have been. The doctors- used to dealing with injuries, sure, surgeries even, but not much to do with delicate, destroyed bonework- had pulled out all the stops.

"-placing and reorienting the bone was one of the hardest parts. And, quite frankly, the burns that she got helped to somewhat cauterize some of it. Decreases the chance of infection. Next, was sewing her arm back up and-"

The biggest issue that Quinn would have now, besides the pain of the healing process, would be fighting off infection.

"-if there's even the slightest bit of infection. The arm has to go. We were looking at her and we… don't think she has the best constitution. I'm not sure. We'd need better equipment to check. But there's something, well, not _wrong_ per say, but not _right_ either with her. All we know is that, if she gets an infection, none of us think her body's going to be able to defend against it properly."

Whatever that was about.

Kat had simply sagged in relief before jumping back up in determination and demanding to know everything he could do to help. He'd completely organized the painkillers and antibiotics gifted to him and had promised, rather loudly, Salt should add, that he was going to make sure that Quinn stayed healthy no matter what.

Salt doesn't care.

Quinn had stumbled, upon waking up for a few minutes, almost immediately out of surgery and over to her Captain's bedside. Followed closely by her navigator and, not so shockingly, by Spice as well, once he had made sure to check up on each of them- his sisters. Nearly crushing her under the weight of his relief at seeing them all alive and, well, _alive._

So long as everything was working out, Salt doesn't care anymore. So long as she can _keep_ it working.

"Okay! Move it people! And no- no one is allowed to see or know who the saviors are-" She pauses as people huff in dissatisfaction and shout for answers. "-Actually, hang on."

Alright, maybe Salt cares, just a little.

"If you all really want to thank them, I have an idea."

Just a little though.

And isn't the irony behind all of this almost palpable?

…

…

The house is gone. But, then again, so is about half the island's homes. The fire had spread and refused to be put out for at least a solid day and Cinnamon would be the first one to admit that it… doesn't hurt, not in the way that it probably should. Because, even with the destruction and them only able to scavenge about a third of what was originally in their house, it was nothing-

It was _nothing_ compared to the joy she felt at seeing that damned building fall.

If a few homes had to be burned up as collateral, so be it.

And she wasn't just saying that. No, as she clutched her slightly crumpled scrapbook to her chest, the people of the island- once they saw the source of the destruction and quickly guessed its meaning- they cheered. Even as fire lit up their homes and ate at their small amount of belongings. The streets were filled with laughter and joy and, when they heard that Kigu fell with it-

The tears and happiness was almost deafening.

"Hey."

"Hn."

"Quite the response, huh?"

Cinnamon finds Spice outside the small repurposed building on the edge of the island where the pirates were allowed to stay- it belonged to one of the islands doctors who was more than happy to share the home with their 'saviors' while they recovered, promising secrecy- and watches him stare out past the shoreline, beyond the horizon where there was no Starving, Hunting, or Nest. She waits for him to say something, anything, but he remains quiet.

That was fine.

Spice… seemed to have a lot on his mind. Far more than she felt she could comprehend and Cinnamon shuffled until she was standing next to him, fingering the pages of her scrapbook.

"Salt's okay. By the way." She flips a page with a smile. "We finally got her checked out, I mean, we actually could now. Without the hold on the doctors to worry about. She, uh… She was rather adamant I give you this, though."

His eyes flicker down to her, brow raising as she lifts up a small box that had been hidden under one arm, against her hip.

"She said you'd need it."

She had always been good at reading Spice's expression so she knows the question he's asking without even voicing it.

"She- She didn't want to give it to you herself. I think she was feeling guilty for running off but still. She wants you to have it."

He's carefully gifted the box and slides his hands over the surface. The wood is scratched and old, with carved lettering on the top; its crude and obviously done with a dull knife, but it's still clear enough to tell that it says: _SPICE._ In simple letters. The whole thing was nailed together, some bent and hammered in on their sides instead of properly. Honestly, it was enough to make him spark up in amusement, because, wow, was it horribly put together and not of the quality he would expect from his second sister.

"I'm pretty sure Pepper helped with it."

Ah, that would explain it.

He snorts, lips twitching upwards. That was… a cute image, he'll admit. It made the box seem better than it was, simply by having the youngest's hand in it. Clear that she'd tried her hardest in helping.

Spice slides the top off and takes one look at the contents and-

"Apparently it's waterproof!" Cinnamon sings, looking all too pleased as he grasped at the implication. "Really! I'm jealous. I've been wanting a new cameko for ages now but it seems Salt wanted to help you out with your dream."

"...Seems as if my family has already made the decision for me."

Cinnamon smiles. It's soft and tinged with melancholy and she's completely been unable to help it. "It's not that. We just… Don't want to hold you back." She side eyes him. "And we can all see that you really, really want to go."

"Do I now?"

"Don't you?"

No answer but she expected as much.

"You wanted to leave even before mom died and I know that hasn't changed."

He places the well-made cameko back inside the box, closing it, and turns to stare back over the burned remains of part of the island behind them. At the smoldering, gaping hole left behind by the factory.

"It's not that we want you to go but… to explore the recipes of the world in your own book… it's been your dream since we were kids. And I don't think you'll find a better crew to go with," of that they were both sure, "they're good people. And not just for pirates. You fit well with them."

She plays with the pages in her scrapbook, opening it up to scenes of family and silly photos and everything in between. Discovering the book, under the broken roof of their house, had been a godsend- when she'd gone back to search through it, she hadn't held up much hope that it'd survived. It was only paper and cardboard and yarn bound binding, after all. And it'd come out only a little scuffed and with a couple pages bent out of place but, otherwise, fine.

Eyes linger on pictures of their mother, of large smiles and Spice's much brighter eyes from all those years ago.

She took in a deep breath.

Turned to the next page, and watched the years grow more tired, less happy, and filled with worry. Even as Pepper appeared and Salt grew.

Cinnamon teeth caught the edge of her lip.

It felt… like a long time ago.

"They offered, didn't they?"

"Multiple times."

"You haven't said yes yet."

"Still deciding."

"But you haven't said no either.

"Still deciding."

"... _Are_ you?" Cinnamon hummed. "I think you already have."

They sit in silence and flip through the scrapbook, laughing and murmuring over the pictures on each page and reminiscing over stories that felt older than they actually were, as the islanders cheered long into the late hours of the night and partied even into the early hours of the next morning and day.

Spice had never been an expressive person. But when he was younger it had been much easier to read him, to make something out of his expressions- to see past the calm façade that was hardly a façade at all. It was simply his face and how he always was. But Cinnamon remembered how his eyes would light up with excitement and barely contained joy and how small smiles would grace his face every time a new dish would be brought out by their mother, or when he would succeed at something new in the kitchen, or whenever their mother would take him out sword training and give him such a look of pride that it would have him beaming for the next few days.

And, as Cinnamon turns the pages, sees the years of sickness and cold factory's, she can't help but feel her eyes burn as he changes with them-

Something had died in him the day she passed away.

Cinnamon is not so naïve as to believe he'll get it back if he stays. Not when there are reminders around every corner, not when he was being strong for his family who needed a rock to hold onto, an anchor- one that they forgot to pull up and now didn't have the strength to fight past the barnacles and rocks and ocean that held it down.

"...You're crying."

"I k-know." She sniffs, looking away, and is glad to note that he's not looking. Not seeing her own weakness. "I know." She rubs her eyes.

"...Why?"

"Because… y-you _won't."_

He sighs and his arm wraps around her shoulders, tugging her close.

…

...

Cinnamon didn't remember it because of anything that had happened in the moment but because, when she looked back over her memories, it stood out. Against the backdrop of death only a few weeks later, with death fresh in their household and the tears that fall like waterfalls and-

Spice had not shed a single tear. Not one that she had seen.

And she would like to think she didn't know the reason why but she did.

She had been creeping through the halls, darkness all around her and making her stumble as she went to the kitchen, thoughts taken by the possibility of a late night snack when she hears it. It's a small whisper, but it seems like a shout in the emptiness.

_"I'm dying."_

Cinnamon freezes.

"I'm dying."

"N-No, you'll get better right- like you promised-"

"I'm sorry but I-" There's a quiet wheeze and Cinnamon is frozen in a hallway, unable to do anything but listen. "I can't keep it. You know that I can't. I know you do. You're a smart man, Spice, you always have been." It's a croak, weak and sad but also proud. And Cinnamon knows how hard it must be for her to get all of that out. It's more than she'd managed to bring herself to speak in awhile.

"You do know, don't you?"

Cinnamon doesn't want to hear his answer. She does anyways.

"...I do."

And something in her breaks. The acknowledgement that they only have so long now, that they're in a final stretch that they never wanted to reach, and she's so overcome with grief that she almost doesn't hear the rest.

"Be strong for them. You'll be the oldest. They'll need you." Her mother croaks. "And I'm selfish, I know. I always have been-"

"No."

"-but I can't stand the thought of you crying for me. So, please. _Please._ Just… don't."

It's the most selfish thing their mother has ever asked for but Cinnamon knows, even without looking, that Spice is already nodding to it. He could never tell her no after all. Never. Usually their mother was aware of that and never asked for anything that would or could be something that Spice didn't want. But… as sick as she is, it wouldn't surprise Cinnamon to realize that it never crossed her mind, because she had _forgotten_ it. And can't bring herself to blame her mother, even now-

Because none of them had realized that, in asking that, Spice had locked his emotions down and bound them so tightly that not even he could unwind them again.

Cinnamon had never seen her brother shed a tear again.

So she tried to do it for him.

Sobbing for two as they woke to find their mother's body cold in her bed and their house a hollow husk of what it once was.

…

…

Pepper is just one small head amongst the crowd.

It's easy to hop through legs and duck around people, only semi-aware of the curious eyes that follow her as she stumbles past. The island is loud, loud enough that it's starting to give her a headache, and there're so many people that it's a struggle to shove her way through, especially since people were collected so closely that it was almost impossible to find squeezable gaps through them. Not that she could blame them. The partying was much anticipated and Pep wouldn't be surprised if half the people fell unconscious partway through- a mix of alcohol and exhaustion now that the fires had been put out and it was the first time in _years_ that they were given a break from factory work.

A break without nightmares or fears used against them… it sounded great! And Pepper was happy for everyone, she had never seen half the people smile and the kids were actually running around for once and-

Her own face is pulled into a pout of worry.

And she forces her way through harder, not apologizing even when she may accidentally shove someone too hard. Whatever. She was tiny and she had places to be. And dogs to see-

"Is she-" She huffs as she runs into the small house, elbowing past someone in her haste who jumps in surprise, "Is she okay?"

The veterinarian blinks down at her and gives a small laugh. "As I was just telling Mister Kat here-"

Pepper gasps and turns with wide eyed to stare up at red hair and brown eyes. It was the boy!

"-your Momma is just fine. She won't be able to move for a few days though, if you want to visit?"

"Yes, please!"

The please is tacked on almost as an afterthought.

She doesn't remove her eyes from Kat.

They say nothing for a few minutes, staring each other down and Kat slowly begins sweating bullets. Was she- Was she trying to be intimidating?

(If she _was_ it was working.)

"Did you come to check on Momma?!"

He nearly jumps out of his skin at the suddenness of the question. "Y-Yes…!" He stuttered. "I, uh. Got worried. And she was looking bad after the fight so I… wanted to see if she was f-fine?" Even if that was exactly what he had come to do, it came out sounding like a question.

"Oh… Okay! Come with me then!" He blinks in surprise as she grabs his hand and starts tugging him along. "Come on! Come on, Momma isn't getting any younger!" It's such an odd line to hear from a child that all Kat can really do is let out a startled laugh and follow her dragging.

"Oh, she really _is_ doing okay!"

The arrival to Momma's pen is met with barking from other animals in the room but, as they settle in, it starts to diminish. The poor thing has a few shaved spots and a boot on her back leg, but otherwise seems perfectly content to just laze around in the corner. It's an incredible contrast to the ferocity that Kat had seen her try to defend her family with and he feels something jump in his chest, for some odd reason, as he greets her with a small wave.

He receives a snort that might've actually been a sneeze in return but, er, that was enough for him.

"Momma!" Pepper skips to her side, beaming from ear to ear. "I was worried about you!" Kat covers his mouth as she shoves him in with her and goes to Momma, hiding his smile. "I- I'm so glad you're alright."

The image has something like pride swelling up in his chest. But there was just one thing that was bothering him...

"Hey, are you okay?" Kat finds himself asking, eyeing Pepper from where she stands, crouched over her dog. She's got a look on her face that tells him she's deep in thought and somethings telling him their not exactly good ones either. "...You know, I was going to try to bury all my feelings deep inside me too, but Quinn told me that was a bad idea."

Pepper looks up at him then looks away.

He feels so awkward. "A-And she's, like, _I_ think she's pretty smart. So she's probably right. She even got mad at Ace for telling me to do that and… and…"

Oh, gosh, definitely awkward.

He nearly cheers when Pepper finally decides to speak. Her voice soft and quiet but not so much so that it made it hard for him to hear her.

"Salt says Momma is not really our Mom." She mumbles and Kat- who'd been told of the situation- tenses and has to visibly look away from her. Well. That's… not _quite_ what he was hoping for. Then again, he didn't know what he expected. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"S-Sure?"

He rubs his nervous hands onto the front of his jeans.

"Sometimes I think she might be right."

Kat freezes.

She continues to pet their dog, looking decidedly unbothered by the revelation she's just made, until Kat looks down and sees her shoulders starting to shake. "...But I don't want her to be because…" Pepper sniffs, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand. "Because then that would mean…"

Kat opens his mouth, struggling for words to help, before shutting it.

"Everyone was so much h-happier with Mom here and she- she promised she still would be so- so its Momma, isn't it?" She sounded desperate, as desperate as someone her age could sound, grasping at straws with teary eyes. "S-She… She even protected us like Momma would so that means-"

Kat's physically having to hold himself back from cringing.

Pepper seems to notice and trails off, feet kicking as she buries her face into fur and-

"You know," he scratches his cheek, old scars itching his gils, "I lost my mother too."

"Did she… Did she have to go away for awhile t-too? Did she promise…"

"She promised to always be there for me!" Kat chirps with a cheerfulness that's as fake as it looks. "...I- even if she can't physically be here, I… I'm sure she tries in other ways." He fingers his claws with a small smile, the silver gleaming back with a lightness that has him sucking in a deep breath and letting him calm himself.

Pepper watches the action with wide eyes before she blinks. "...Did she _die_?"

And Kat answers that question as honestly as he can.

"I don't know."

"You don't?" She sounds so flabbergasted that it garners a surprised laugh from him. " _Hey._ "

"I don't. She was… No, no. She was taken." He gives her a sad smile and Pepper frowns, unsure of what to make of the claim and not knowing how to respond to it. "I used to have this shell that was hers. It was her most prized possession and it was… amazing. For a long time, it was the only thing she really left behind just for _me_ -" He blinks, trying to hide the years old sorrow and upset that still boils somewhere deep and buried within at the thought of her lost shell. "And I couldn't even keep it safe for a _day._ "

Pepper opens her mouth to ask questions, questions he knows he's probably not prepared for so he's quick to march on.

"I have these now though so its- its okay." He shows his claws. "I, honestly, don't think I could've left my island if I didn't bring a piece of her with me."

"A piece of her?"

"Well, yeah. When someone is-" He struggles for a moment before settling on- " _Away._ When someone is away, they'll leave pieces of themselves behind for you to remember them by. I just think that it's good to keep in mind that-"

He reaches out and glides his hand through soft fur and listens to the dog grumble and shift into the pettings. There's a horribly sad look in his eye, one that he can't put into words and one that makes the claws on his hip feel heavier than they ever could realistically be.

"-the pieces of someone that you _do_ have, don't make up that person. Otherwise…" He swallows, tongue heavy and not from teeth for once. "Otherwise that person would be here themselves, wouldn't they?"

Pepper grimaces, eyes closing into fur and _shudders._

Momma huffs beneath her. "...just a piece then?"

"Just a piece."

-0-

Quinn can't help but laugh as Ace drags her and Kat into the crowd, his hat hanging on his back by its cord and some meat-on-a-stick or something or other shoved into his mouth. They'd just been rejoined by Kat- who returned looking more melancholic than he did when he left but also lighter, somehow- before Ace had been all too happy to push them into festivities with the islanders even though they were supposed to keep a low profile- Well. Salt had promised to take care of it and Quinn was inclined to take her for her word after seeing the determined look in her eye. And Quinn was currently on too many painkillers to care- _so!_

Party it was.

"Ooh! Spice and Cinnamon are having a cook off everyone!"

"Really?! They haven't done that since-"

And Quinn was not imagining that sparkly look in Ace's eye as he took in all the food and drink and dug in with an inhuman gusto that had everyone who saw him wide eyed and flabbergasted, at least, those who were unaware of his appetite. She nearly started crying laughing when someone started screaming at the sight and made sure to place more than a few bets on the amount of plates he would clear. Bets that she was more than assured to win.

Keh. At least they would come out of this with a sum of money to back them up- Quinn rather hated being so poor that they could only really plan for the clothes on their backs but, ah, it was to be expected. What with being pirates. And being pirates who haven't planned to pillage anyone or anything just yet.

She can't say she doesn't enjoy it all- mind slightly addled as she hiccups with laughter at something or other. Something funny that she can't quite recall and that somehow causes a bubbly feeling in her chest to take over, helping her ignore the dull ache that came from her arm- soothed only by medicine and painkillers that had her a bit nauseous and giddy but otherwise fine.

"Oy, Quinn! What are you doing over here all by yourself?! You have to try this-!" Ace shoves something in her face that she tentatively tastes and then delights in once she discovers that it's absolutely delicious. "Spice made it! We absolutely need to convince him to join-" And, yes, she can definitely get behind that attitude if _this_ was the quality he put out regularly.

It was like heaven for her mouth and Quinn realizes, all of a sudden, as she takes another bite and then two and then three, just how hungry she is.

She snorts, lips pulling up into a grin. "Well, if he doesn't, I think you'll know where I'll be." It's good enough that she briefly entertains the idea of staying for it, though not seriously-

Ace pouts and only pouts harder when she laughs.

"I'm joking, Ace! Don't worry."

The party seems endless and is somehow- impossibly- more cheerful than the one back at Cona's place. Quinn could hardly imagine that as a possibility but, well. She supposes the people here have something better to be happy about and absolutely no qualms about making it as loud as it could possibly be.

Kat is off and making sculptures of water again, exploding them into a fine mist over the crowds and delighting in the attention it gains. There's no stigma on this island, not from what they can see, because the islanders couldn't possibly care about appearances- especially not with him. When he had been the only one of their little trio to put effort into putting out the fires that rose from Ace's flames. He'd been seen by virtually everyone on the island as a helping hand that protected Spice's family and did nothing but help them all out. The direct opposite of something to be afraid of or someone to ostracize-

Quinn felt something soften at the sight of his wide, beaming grin.

"They love him, don't they?" Quinn couldn't help but chuckle a little. She'd been worried but it seems, in this instance, actions speak for themselves. "I hope other islands can- Oh?"

She's sent nearly crashing into the ground as Ace yanks her by the hand.

Quinn doesn't… _quite_ yelp. But it's a close call.

"Chehaha!" And then he's spinning her and she tries her best to not show just how flabbergasted she is, blinking wildly as she's sent nearly sprawled out spread eagle from the sheer unexpected force behind it. Even if all it is is him raising her hand above her head and pulling her around. As it is, all she manages to react with is catching one foot behind the other and collapsing on her butt into the dirt. Ace grinning down at her. Looking way too proud of himself. "I saw someone doing this earlier! Is that how it's supposed to go?"

She must really be giddy because Quinn doesn't think twice about throwing her head back and laughing.

Despite the fact that she's one hundred percent sure that he knows that that's not how it's done.

"Maybe in a ballroom. But this is a party," she dusts herself off as he helps her back up with a small apology that she knows is only to be polite because he's much too busy laughing at her to seriously mean it, "and I didn't know you were interested in dancing?"

He shakes his head. "Not really." And then shrugs. "Well, I mean-" He points at the many people sweeping each other off their feet to music that plays from- from somewhere. Quinn's not all that sure to be honest but she thinks she saw a couple violinists walking around _somewhere_. "They look like they're having fun, don't they?"

And he's right, they really do. Laughter bubbling and screams of joy that pierce and just fall into more smiles. There's not really any semblance of order to them either- it's completely wild and Quinn's sure that half the people have never danced in their entire life but, well- they're up and they're trying their best so does it really matter?

"Do… you want to learn?"

"You know how to dance?"

"Well, not like that. But my… _island_ has a fun style and it's pretty easy to remember the steps if you know how it works. And it's kinda all about improvisation so-" She smiles a little and- she's not aware of it but Ace picks up on her nervousness from a mile away and something inside him can't help but relish in the tentativeness to the words. Because she clearly _wants_ to share it with him and is-

She's chewing on her lip like she always does and is almost looking away from him as she rubs the back of her neck. On anyone else, it would simply be nerves that he sees. But, on her, it looks downright vulnerable and Ace knows that if he says no he'll be absolutely remiss-

It's a good thing he doesn't want to.

He perks up.

"And, hey, you're smart and not a spazz, so I think you'll pick it up pretty fast anyways-" And if that isn't just the most convincing argument/pep talk he's ever heard.

Ace's lips quirk upwards in amusement. "Sure." And watches Quinn blink up at him in surprise, shocked that he said yes, before- _Oh_. Ace is glad he didn't say no. He's never seen such an elated smile on her face before.

"C-Cool." She coughs and offers a hand. "So- have you ever heard of the Shuffle and Cutting Shapes?"

The confused look he sends her is enough to tell her that no, no he hasn't. But, hey, she expected as much. So she yanks him to a space where the music is only a bit easier to talk through and there's just enough room that he won't hit anyone when he inevitably trips over his own feet and has her laughing at him.

The fact that his tongue is poking out of the corner of his mouth, eyebrows furrowed downwards, as he stares at his feet with such a look of concentration that it looks like it hurts, is just the frosting on the cake. Downright charming.

…

...

Quinn almost feels bad showing him up once he starts to get the hang of it.

(He's got the steps down, for the most part, and she's definitely impressed. But he has nothing on the speed and practiced ease in which she does the same.)

But he simply pulls her back towards the dancing crowd that has only grown while they were gone. He's slow compared to her- stumbling and laughing all the same though, so it's okay and she lets him spin her around so long as he doesn't plan on sending her to the ground again. Given the mischievous look in his eye though, she's quite certain he's got something planned a couple times and smirks- tripping him up and making him stumble before he can even think of getting away with anything.

"H-Hey-!"

She's got a hand on his bicep, pulling him out of his steps and out of the spin he was about to attempt to surprise her with. "What were you planning with that one, huh?"

He looks away and says, "N-Nothing," you know, like a liar.

(He had been planning on catching her at the end, by her good arm, and then just dropping her in the dirt as soon as she thought he was going to help her back up.)

(Quinn was onto the jerk.)

"Ooh! Hey, Spice said he was going to start on some beer battered chicken fried-"

That's all Ace needs to hear before he's perking up and Quinn actively watches as his interest in dancing has dwindled noticeably in the face of delicious foods he'd never had before, much less heard of- and she rolls her eyes as she pulls him out of the crowd with her. "Go on, oh capitán mi capitán." He doesn't need to be told twice-

Or, he wouldn't. If it wasn't for the fact that he seemingly does a double take and finds himself skidding to a halt, turning around to stare at her with a suddenly serious gaze that has her shifting. He glances down and Quinn frowns. "What? Is there something wrong-?"

"What happened back at the factory?"

"Huh?"

He points at her arm, brow raised. And she bites her bottom lip and brings it to her stomach, squeezing slightly and throwing her other arm over it in a lame attempt to hide it as her shoulders came up to hug her neck. "You were only supposed to go down and find the correct snail, right? How'd you hurt your arm-" He paused and then clarified. "How did you hurt your arm so bad that they were having trouble _fixing_ it?"

He hadn't heard much, not for a lack of trying either, Ace couldn't exactly help being curious about the injury, especially when Quinn should've been in the, objectively, safest route- but all Kat had told him was that Quinn's arm came out bad enough that the doctors thought for a bit that they weren't going to be able to fix it. And Ace is no doctor, but he trusts the skill required of most of them, so that's a pretty worrying statement to make. Especially since Ace had a feeling that he hadn't quite grasped the severity of it all, given the look on Kat's face when he was telling him.

He'd been unnaturally pale and looked a bit green around the gils. And not because of his fishman heritage.

Quinn herself hadn't said a single thing. Actually, she'd hardly acknowledged it. Seemed completely alright with acting like there wasn't a single thing wrong with her- despite the fact that he can see that her fingers are still swollen from where they poke outside her cast and brace; the way they lay stiff and unmoving for the most part and how she grips her bicep and squeezes, eyes crinkling in discernable pain..

The question has her falling completely silent, still.

For a second, Ace thinks she might not even be breathing until she huffs out what could be a curse, followed quickly by a grimace: "I… would rather not talk about it." She quirks a smile his way and Ace is definitely not imagining the fakeness behind it. He frowns. "I just fell down the stairs and got in a bit of a spat. Don't worry."

He opens his mouth and then decides against saying anything. He trusts her and he's not about to overstep his boundaries if it's something that she really doesn't want to bring up. "If you're sure…" Ace knows that he barely deserves to be tolerated, the fact that she's simply sticking around after getting hurt is more than enough. And, as much as he wants to care, he doesn't want to push his luck anymore than he already has.

"Mnh. Now, shoo. On your way, food and our potential new chef await you." She goes so far as to make the hand motion and everything and he rolls his eyes before preparing to go do just that except- "Aa. Hang on."

He blinks at her.

"Captain."

And feels himself straighten subconsciously at the address.

It's not as if it's everyday that Quinn refers to him as Captain and, given the track record, he's starting to think that she's only going to use it if she's serious about something.

The use has him wondering if he did something wrong.

"I… have to apologize to you."

There's a look in her eyes that a little dark and feels like it would have a better place with her glares than with the guilty expression that has her bowing-

Like, actually bowing.

At the middle, so low that he can only really see the way her hair drapes forward and completely hides her face behind wild black tresses. It's an especially deep bow and one that's…. It's awkward and stiff and has him shocked by just how- _wrong_ it looks. And he shifts uncomfortably at the sight. Something about her- something about Quinn-

He doesn't really like the thought of her bowing to anyone, much less him. It doesn't suit her. She seems too… for lack of a better word, "noble" to bow to anyone.

(Rather. It feels more like bowing to someone, kneeling to someone, had never been a thought on her mind. Quinn is someone who had never shied away from staring someone dead in the eye and that was a quality surprisingly hard to come by when one wrong look at a wrong person, in this world, could end with a sword to the throat.)

"Oy, oy, oy, that's…" He makes a face instead of actually voicing his discomfort. It would be worse if he didn't acknowledge the action because, from the tenseness of it, he can tell that it takes a lot for her to go through with it. Ace would not be one to call Quinn a prideful person, he doesn't think she would either, but seeing her swallow what she _has_ is… it makes a pit form in his stomach. It would be disrespectful of him to not accept it. "Why?"

"As of this point in time, I have not been a very good crewmate." She lifts her head, just slightly, just enough that her hair shifts and he can see a black eye gleam between her bangs. Harsh and intelligent and something determined. "And that will not be happening again."

Then she stands, heels figuratively clicking as they come together, she gives him a short nod, and immediately wanders off- as if nothing had happened and she hadn't just left him blinking at her back in shock and confusion. "...Oh… kay?" He frowns as he makes his way over to Spice's outdoor kitchen setup and steals a kebab of something, eating much slower than he normally would as his brow furrows deeper and deeper.

A spot of worry nips at his heart.

What the _hell_ happened in that factory while he was off fighting Kigu?

…

…

Cinnamon knows that it's about time for her to head to bed but she can't really find it within herself to sleep. The party is still going on strong, the end still not in sight, and she'd pulled away from her and Spice's kitchen setup in order to take a break- to take a breather from the joyous smiles and loud noises that were-

She enjoyed them, don't get her wrong, but she was nursing a nasty concussion and the noise was starting to give her a headache that no amount of Tylenol could help ease. It's why she finds herself at the edge of festivities and pulled away from the majority of the people. She's just hoping for some semblance of quiet-

Which is why the kicking, curse, and shattering of a glass bottle has itself piercing through her head and catching her attention. And how, when following the direction the sound came from, Cin finds herself stumbling upon the lone woman of the pirate trio. A lone woman who, at this current moment in time, had clearly just kicked a beer bottle into the side of a house and was using her good fist to punch a wall.

"For fucks sake," Cin does not miss the hard expression on her face, nor the way she grits her teeth and her eyes look slightly wet from frustration and stress and- Quinn curses. "Damn it. Sh… _Shit…!"_

There's not much else she can make out except for Quinn running her hand through her hair, fingers tangling in the crows nest, and hunching in on herself. It's clear that whatever happened to have her out here by herself- it's got her incredibly distressed.

"O-Oh, you're a real idiot, aren't you, huh? A-Absolutely pathetic!" She hissed. "So weak… So weak… Like hell you'll prove yourself, freaking worthless…" It was harsh muttering interspersed with curses and a language that Cinnamon doesn't know but vaguely thinks is from one of the other Blues. "Can't believe… Can't believe that I- I actually…"

Cin watches as she slams her back into the buildings wall and slowly falls to the ground, face buried in one hand and knees pulled tight to her chest.

"H-Hey-?"

She finds herself speaking before she can second guess herself.

And Quinn's head whips up. Letting Cinnamon realize that she must've been biting her lip so hard that it bled because there were spots of red smeared across her mouth. She looked about ready to cry as well- face scrunched up with a furiousness born of frustration and stress- but none fell, even with her eyes so rimmed with red they were starting to grow puffy.

Quinn takes one look at Cin and curls in on herself, looking absolutely humiliated. "Sh-Shi- I'm fine, I'm fine! You- You can go. I just- need a second here." The mortification is clear in her voice and Cinnamon instantly feels bad that she had so much as acknowledged her, it's clearly the opposite of helpful. "Fu- _Fu- P-Please leave. I-_ what are you doing?"

Cinnamon is already sliding into a seat against the wall next to her and Quinn looks an odd mix of horrified and confused and-

She grits her teeth and turns her head away, wiping at her face and Cinnamon is almost impressed by the deep shuddering breath she takes in that immediately silences any and all whimpers that could've escaped her. A half second later, even her shoulders have stopped trembling, and Quinn is tense. Staring right out ahead of her with such a blank look on her face that Cin would think her a corpse.

The only evidence left behind: her shaking hands and the red beneath her eyes.

Cinnamon waits a few moments longer as she forcibly collects herself- guilt rolling over in her stomach at catching her moment of weakness and then staying- and waits to see if the act will break. It doesn't. So Cin opens her mouth and asks, "...What happened?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Kinda late for that, don't you think?"

Cinnamon has to say that it's incredibly weird to see her acting completely unaffected after finding her like she was- if it wasn't for her knowing for a _fact_ what she saw and actively reminding herself, Cin might've been fooled even now.

(The carefully crafted mask… it reminded her too much of what Spice did. And something in her clenches at the thought.)

"It… doesn't matter."

Cin raises an unimpressed brow. "If it didn't matter, you wouldn't be over here, would you?"

It gets her an annoyed glare.

It falls into something pitiful a second later.

"What happened?" She asks again.

The simplicity of the question must be getting to her because Quinn is suddenly overwhelmed by it and bows her head, nails digging into her face until they left digits and scrapes. "I…" she struggles, and the wetness in her voice as she chokes it out is not her imagination, "I _killed_ someone."

She confessed.

The sudden silence is deafening.

"...Who?"

"Does it matter?"

"I g-guess not."

Quinn sniffs as she buries her face in her knees this time, slamming her head down hard into the bone in the hopes of making it hurt. Honestly, of all things, that's not what Cinnamon had been expected. "W-Well… I- can't say I don't understand." Quinn blinks, brows crinkling. "I mean, it's not good but… if someone attacks you, these things happen, don't they?"

"You've killed someone?" She croaked in disbelief.

"He had been trying to- He had been attacking me. Just some drunk. When I was younger." Cin admits, closing her eyes and briefly remembering the fear and later the horror over how far things had gone. Too far. It should've never gotten to that point. "I… don't regret protecting myself but- I could've done things differently, I think. If I hadn't panicked."

"...You were just defending yourself."

She shrugs, "There's still not a day that goes by that I don't feel guilty about it."

Quinn laughs. "Kehaha-" It's tinged with a tad of hysterics. "-that's just it though, I _don't_." Cin blinks at her in surprise. "I-I-I don't feel bad. Not even- Not even a little bit. And I didn't even- I didn't even really _want_ to kill him… I don't really remember even doing it. It's just flashes! W-What kind of monster-?"

She swallows, growing quiet and kicks a rock.

"What kind of monster doesn't even care that they killed someone? It- I don't… I don't feel _anything._ Why can't I feel- And th-that's…" She goes even quieter, voice hardly more than a whisper. "That's horrible, isn't it?"

Cinnamon grimaces.

"...Did they attack you? They're the one who did that to your arm, aren't they?" _That_ had been a terrible sight to see and one that Cinnamon didn't want to remember. At Quinn's nod, she returns with what she told her. "Then you were just defending yourself, weren't you?"

She hopes that helps get through to her.

"Just because I feel guilty doesn't mean you have to too. Everyone is- Everyone is different. And the situations weren't the same I'm sure but-"

"...I wasn't though."

The whisper is startling in the silence.

"What?"

"I _wasn't._ Defending myself." There's something dark and deadly in Quinn's gaze that has Cinnamon shivering. "I could've left him. Could've walked away. He was too injured to move and he would've suffocated anyways. I'm sure of it. But I still… I still… I didn't even think twice, I…"

She trails off and Cinnamon shifts, looking at her, eyes narrowing. "I think…" She realizes almost as soon as she says it. "I think you do feel bad, actually."

"Huh?"

"I think you feel horrible and it's eating you up inside."

Quinn opens her mouth, closes it, shakes her head in frustration. "But I don't- that's the opposite of-"

"I think you just don't know what to do with it. Or-"

"No."

"Or how to respond to any of it. So you're just numb-"

_"No!"_

"-and that's what's scaring you. That you feel horrible. Terrible. And you can't handle any of it, so you're trying to forget about it. Forget it even happened-"

"That's not-"

"-but you _can't._ And you're _scared._ Because you don't actually want to feel anything but you're terrified that you will."

She stutters.

And Cinnamon feels she hit the nail on the head.

"They hurt you." Quinn stares at her, mouth agape as she worked to try and find something to respond with but Cin didn't need anything from her. "And they were going to hurt the others if you didn't stand in their way, right?"

"Th-They couldn't have… not Ace at least. Ace is strong and-"

"I don't think that matters." Cinnamon smiles a little. "I- Have you ever had a family, Quinn?"

"O-Of course I have-"

"Sorry, sorry. Let me rephrase that: Have you ever had a _real_ family? A close-knit bunch that you would do… anything for. Like with me and Spice and Salt and Pep."

Quinn falls silent and seems to think for a minute. "...yes…" she finally admits. "W-with only one person though. My- My grandmother- she… she's gone already though…"

"But you remember what that was like, right?" A nod. Hesitant. "How much you just want to help- take some weight off their shoulders?" Another nod, stronger now. "It's the same with them right? With the pirates?"

Cin can't help the smile jump on her face as Quinn's face blushed hotly, like she was only just realizing now. "I- uh…" And maybe she was. The dumbfounded look on her face is cute. "A-Aa, shit. _Shit._ " Her face is reddening and Quinn's eyes are blown impossibly wide. The sudden new comprehension has her mouth agape and-

Then both hands are tangling in her hair and an even more panicked look is coming over her and Cinnamon startles at the sudden tears pricking the corner of her eyes and, "Oh, shit, _shit, shit, shit,_ no- tha… that _can't_ happen. I'm not allowed-"

 _Ookay,_ Cinnamon stares, _this girl has got some issues, doesn't she?_

"I-I said I wouldn't- oh, this is bad, this is so, _so bad_ -"

"What's bad about it? Quinn? H-Hey-" She gets up abruptly, breathing fast and immediately starts pacing back and forth, hands trembling as they run through her hair. "It can't be that bad! Even if their pirates, you're all friends, right-?"

"No! You don't u-understand- I'm not supposed to be here and, and, and- I _can't_ care. I just _can't._ Because, if I do, and everything goes the way its _supposed to-_ " Cinnamon stands up and tries to corral her back down, tries to ease her breathing into something more manageable but has no success because there's something even more stressed and horrified coming over Quinn's face because it has tears brimming to the point where she can practically _see_ how uncontrollable they are and- "I know I mean nothing in this story, so it doesn't matter to anyone if I care but- but it matters _to me_."

Her voice cracks on the last little bit and she blinks furiously to rid herself of the tears.

Yeah, Cinnamon has no idea how to make sense of any of that.

"I-I think you're having a panic attack."

 _"No, really?_ I wonder what gave it away!" She sucks in a choked breath and then curses. "Oh, g-god."

"I think you should lay-"

"Do not tell me what to do right now." Quinn heaves herself back to the wall and places her hand on it, eyes squeezing shut. Cinnamon fluttering away with worry. "Okay. Okay… okay. I'm… fine. I'm fine."

"Are you?"

A pause.

"...fuck _no_!"

She's trembling and shaking as she slowly falls onto her knees, head banging into the wall.

"Feels like nothing-"

"That's good right-"

"No! It feels like there's _nothing-_ "

Oh. Well. Cinnamon doesn't know what to do. So she sits back down and waits, listening to the panicked sounds of Quinn's breathing as minutes tick by and it gets worse before it gets better. And, once it finally does, "Do you want me to get your Captain-?"

"No, oh, wow, no." She groans. "That's the last thing I need right now. 'Cause he'd just get worried and blame himself or something stupid and- no. I- I'm good now. Well, not good but…"

"I get it."

"...thank you."

Funny, Cinnamon doesn't feel like she's done much of anything. Much less something actually helpful. "For what?"

"For staying."

She shrugs.

And Quinn carefully monitors her own breathing and the beating of her heart as she leans back to stare at the night sky. "I don't know if you can tell. But I'm not very good with emotions. Or people."

"Honestly, seeing you, I think you're too good with your emotions." It gains a confused look. "Only someone with an ironclad handle on their emotions to keep calm like you did before. It just- this was clearly a _really_ bad moment."

"Clearly."

"The people thing though. That's definitely true." Cinnamon giggles at the flat expression. "Oh, come on, I think it's kind of cute."

That gains a small chuckle. "Socially stunted and stressed out, that's your type then?"

Cinnamon eyes her, small smirk rising at that curious tone. "Well…" Quinn's gqze shifted from the stars to her. "They are the ones usually just looking to blow off steam so-!"

"Kinda gal that likes no strings attached, huh?"

"No strings. Don't have to worry about anything getting tangled up. It's easy and simple, don't you think?"

Quinn laughs.

It's lighter than it was before, where it had been dark and heavy and with a wheezy quality, this was much more breathless and a tad hopeful. Especially as she peeled herself off the ground and offered a hand down to Cinnamon, "Ah, well, there's no accounting for taste." Glad that, once she was up, there was no need to pause and think, just simply be dragged along by her good hand.

The party continues well into the next day.

-0-

"Is he not coming?"

The disappointment is falling off him in waves, to the point that Ace might as well be colored blue for just how depressed he looks as he asks the inevitable question that had been on his mind for the past hour.

_"Really?"_

"There, there." Quinn pats him on the back. "You can't get everyone."

Kat, of course, tries to look on the brightside. "It's okay, Ace! I can catch us plenty of fish to cook up and-"

Oh, now _both_ Quinn and Ace have been completely taken over by a cloud of rejection.

"H-Hey."

It's not that they don't appreciate his efforts. They really do. But Kat only knows how to prepare fish two ways- sushi, that's really only safe for him to eat, and completely bland, cooked over a fire and on-a-stick. For a few days, that's manageable.

The thought of doing that forever?

Ugh.

"Quinn, do _you_ know how to cook?"

"Eh. Yeah." Ace perks up with such wide eyes, innocent with his hopefulness, that she feels bad for crushing it all in the next second. "I can't really cook seafood though."

He mopes. Like, visibly and dramatically too. Quinn watches him drape himself over a large rock next to the docks and curl in on himself and everything. She has to strain her ears but she still hears the mutter under his breath. "What kind of person doesn't know how to cook seafood…?"

And throws up her hands. "Well, I'm _sorry,_ Ace! Where I'm from seafood is a delicacy!" For the most part. "All the food I'm used to is from, like, cows, chickens, and pigs-"

"Tch." Ace looks away, pinky digging into his ear. "I keep forgetting that you used to be a noble."

Kat chokes on air as Quinn's face turns bright red and her jaw drops, struck at a loss for words. "I- Wha- I'm not- You-" She sputters before it all comes to a head and she sneers at him. Oh-ho, that's got her _pissed. "I'm not a noble! Never was! Never will be!"_

Ace doesn't really look like he believes her.

She looks to Kat for help.

He makes a face. "...Well, uh. You d… did just say that you came from a place where- where you only ate the most expensive of…" He quickly falls silent as Quinn gapes, looking betrayed. Kat sweats. "Everyone knows that seafood is the easiest and cheapest to buy! Farm animals… Farm animals are the most expensive. Even if I wasn't pescatarian, I don't think I've ever even had a chance in my life to buy _pork_ of all things…"

There's a look of realization that falls over Quinn and they incorrectly believe its her realizing her status as an ex-noble and not- not her realizing-

Realizing that pepperoni would be a delicacy in this world because even pigs were few and far between considering that an island would have to be virtually self-sustaining to even _have_ enough farm animals for it to be a regular staple of a diet for any of the people here. As fresh meats would get gross being sent from island to island by ship unless they were dry-aged.

("Oh my god, they have to have pizza still right? Right?!")

(They do, in fact. Still have pizza.)

-oh, she wants to think about literally _anything else._

But the only thing Quinn can do is wheeze out a pathetic, _"I'm not a noble!"_ And dig herself further and further down a rabbit hole because even a low-class person from a world in late-stage capitalism would sure as hell sound like something reminiscent of the nobility in this world, wouldn't it? Given that the more common luxuries between worlds were seemingly direct opposites of each other.

It's Kat's turn to pat Quinn on the back. "Hey, it's cool. We don't care that you used to be noble."

"I'm _not!_ I-I haven't-!"

Ace takes one look at her face and has to laugh. He's never seen someone so flabbergasted in his life and to find the look on Quinn's face is enough to have him roaring. Like she couldn't believe they were actually having this conversation right now, as if it'd never been a thought to even cross her mind. "O-Okay, okay, I believe- Chehaha! I believe you." And he certainly was inclined to. "There's no way you were ever a noble if- if that's your-" He falls into an even heavier fit of laughter, completely unable to get out the rest of the words.

Hell, he'd only even brought it up to mess with her really. And see how she responded to it.

"Y-Your f-face is… is too funny-!"

Quinn crosses her arms over her chest and scowls at him, hip cocked.

It's been a few days since they'd burned down the factory. Longer than they'd anticipated on staying but, hey, it's not like they have anywhere they need to be. Not really.

But it'd been more than long enough and it was time to leave.

Even if Ace hadn't gotten a yes from Spice.

Actually, they hadn't seen much of him at all. Cinnamon, when Quinn had asked, had simply smiled and said that he'd been wanting to spend some extra time with her and the rest of their family and hadn't said anything more. Even when all Quinn wanted was an idea of his location so she could point Ace in the right direction so he'd stop moping around in disappointment or- worse- bothering _her._

Like what he was still doing now.

Quinn huffs and drags a hand through her hair. "If you really want him can't we just kidnap him or something."

Kat breathes in wrong. "I-I don't think that would work out all that well."

She just grunts.

Eyeing Ace, "It would get him to stop…"

"Again. I- I don't think that-"

"She's joking, Kat."

"Oh! Oh, good. I was worried for a second there…"

Quinn, messing with him now, looks off to the side in the most suspicious manner she can, humming, "Yes… _jo-king…_ "

Kat deadpans at her. "That's not funny."

And receives a laugh for all his trouble. "-Well, if he's not coming, there's no use waiting around. Let's get going." Ace moans pathetically as she tries to coax him off his rock of moping. Going so far as to lick a finger and jab it directly between his ribs. "C'mon, Ace. There's a whole couple seas of people out there, we can find someone who doesn't have a family- hey, c'mon, think of all the cool orphans we can bring to the dark side!"

Kat wheezes sharply. "That- That- I don't want anyone to hear this conversation out of context. What would they think?"

"It's _true_ though."

It kinda is.

_"Oyyy-!"_

They all blink as a call rings out from the distance.

_"Oyyyyyy-!"_

Louder this time and all three look up to spot a girl with a sling still on running to greet them, "Is that… Salt?"

Quinn grimaces. "She's _not_ joining the crew."

"Okay, first off: I wasn't going to ask. Trust me." Salt huffs, wiping sweat from her forehead as she comes to a sliding stop. "Second… _Fair._ " She winces as she admits at least that much. "That's not why I stopped you though. It's because, well…"

They each raise a brow in unison.

"It's because you're headed down the wrong docks."

They share a glance with each other and, when none of them seem to be able to make heads or tails of that, they turn back to her, heads tilting. "Huh?"

…

…

"Quinn, are you crying?"

"N-No- I just- I got joy in my eyes." She sniffles, hands moving to cover her mouth. And she grabs Ace by the shoulder and shakes him, not carrying when it has him jumping in surprise and his head bursting into flames that he struggles to get back under control. Face split by his own wide, wide grin. "It- It has a shower, Ace! It has- It has a _roof!"_

Salt puffs out her chest, looking all too proud of herself as Ace stares wide eyed and in disbelief and Kat squeals in excitement. "Our own ship-! I get to finally navigate something better than- than a rowboat!"

" _This,_ " Salt begins with a wide grin on her face, "is **_Sage's Stellar._** She's an older ship, made for only a small group, but she's sturdy. Rough seas aren't going to beat her down. Some of the villagers got pointed in the right direction to stock and repaint her." Salt gives a nod to the sail, where a small seat was afixed in a makeshift crows nest and a simple white flag was left to fly. "It's even enough for a proper pirate flag."

Ace lights up more. Quite literally. Laughter and happiness bubbling out alongside his fire and completely unrepentant in his joy.

It's a simple ship. Russet browns and black and dark grey trim. Long and wide with large sails and netting and- it doesn't have the mast to support a proper crows nest but there's a set of metal rods sticking out to act as a ladder up to a simple, one-person seat where someone could sit and wrap their legs around the top. A box and shelf and hook for the small telescope that was hanging up there, room for an umbrella to be placed as well as maybe a small box of tools or a book.

There's a galley. It takes up the majority of the deck. A large kitchenette space on one half, pristine and state of the art- a fridge and stove and- Quinn has to look away at the appliances that are much older models compared to anything in her own world but its similar enough that she can't help her delight. The other half is separated by a bar and the single-cushioned seats bolted to the floor that make up the primary table space-

And the _rest._

It's a small area. Half of it is taken up by a simple plush cushioning coming out of the wall that crossed somewhere between a bed and a couch, inlaid atop a line of small storage cabinets and a built-in miniature bookshelf. A loveseat and chair set up across from it, surrounding a small coffee table. The other half is taken up by a door to the bathroom and shower space, hidden at the back of the galley, where there were a small set of lockers for personal effects and clothing and the like. What wasn't taken up by the door was instead taken up by another built in couch-and-bed space, though much smaller than the other one, above which two hammocks were secured. Right next to a ladder in the wall that led straight up to a hatch and, supposedly, to the top of the galley.

"There's storage space up above. For food and boxes and stuff, it's where most of the piping and water systems are hidden too." Salt pointed up it. "It's a bit of a crawl space, since it's not even really as tall as I am, but there's a pulley-system for large boxes and stuff on the outside and doors you can open to shove stuff in. This is mostly just here for a quick grab, to organize, or if you can't go outside."

Quinn bites her lip as she takes it all in.

It's a bright atmosphere. Bright, colorful shades blues accented by soft pinks complementing the brown of the wood well. Homely and cute and quaint, it looked lived in already and she could see that someone had even added a selection of books to the bookshelf already and there was already necessities stored away in the bathroom and a couple pillows and blankets were stacked and just waiting to be used-

Salt grin shakes a little as no one says anything, rubbing the back of her neck. "It's- not much for privacy. Since this room doubles as the living area and sleeping space and, I mean, its like _right_ next to the bathroom too. So you'll probably walk all over each other-"

"It's perfect."

Quinn shuts her down immediately and blinks rapidly as she clutches her bag to her chest, the few things she actually owns hidden within- hell, even her own jacket is more Kat's now anyways, the last relic from her world and she'd essentially given it away, something she can't help but regret a little, even if she doesn't dare want to ask for it back. It's become something important to him, she thinks. When she watches him find comfort in hiding away in it and burying in the cloth too big for him- as she takes in the space that-

That would be their _home._

Ace shifts next to her, smile warm but also teasing. "You look like you're going to start crying there, Quinn." He pokes her in the side and watches her jump and scurry away.

" _Sh-Shut up._ Don't look at me!"

Ace… Ace doesn't know what to say. Not really, as he turns towards Salt. He'd spent a large part of his childhood saving up for a ship and- while no one would look at this ship and think _pirate_ \- it was still more than he could have hoped for. Given to him, free of charge. Because-

Because the absolute joy on Quinn and Kat's face, the sheer delight as they both look around and take everything in and- (Quinn is already putting her things in a locker and putting her sewing kit and lockpicks in a drawer. Kat is- is he asleep on one of the bed-spaces already, wow, he's putting Ace to shame with that- anyways.)- all of its so much more than he expected. A crew, a ship, all given to him free and he-

He doesn't feel he deserves it. Not really. And so all he can figure out to do is bow to Salt, low at the waist, and say as strongly and heartfelt as he can manage: _"Thank you."_

She snorts. "Oh, please. This is just what we owe you for saving all our asses. And for…" She rubs her shoulder. "And, well, for dealing with me, too. I know I didn't make it easy on you all."

"No you didn't!"

Quinn shouts from the bathroom.

Salt shakes her head.

And Ace suddenly has to ask, because this is probably his one chance now that they're really, truly leaving, so he rushes to catch Salt before she can make it all the way down the gangplank and grabs her by her good shoulder: "Hey, wait, apologies for stopping you like this, but…" He has to know for sure before they leave. "Is- Is Spice really not coming with us?"

She makes a face that he can't quite decipher before shaking her head and he sags in defeat before her hand is waving to say no to that too, "I can't speak for Spice. I don't… I've never been good at figuring out what he's thinking but- but if you set out and he's not there, you'll have your answer, won't you?"

He huffs, disappointed. "...Guess I will." Before shaking his head and turning to walk back up the gangplank. "And, thanks, again. I really do mean it."

"I know. You don't have to though. This is supposed to be _our_ thanks."

He smiles, squeezing his hat close as she walks down the docks with a wave, catching the hand of her little sister who he watches cup a hand over her mouth and shout, bothering the dog next to her, "Hey! Pirate-man, thank you and bye-bye!" He can't help the chuckle as he waves and there's a pause. "By the way, I think you're really pretty-!"

He chokes.

_"Pepper!"_

"What? It's _true!_ "

An awkward laugh escapes him as they disappear around a building.

"Hey…" Ace stops, looking up at the tentative voice that calls out to him, still trying to figure out whatever the hell that was all about as he takes in the sight of Spice's eldest sister.

Apparently, he was going to see everyone but the man of the hour today.

"I- sorry to bother you, especially when you're just about to leave, but I have to ask…" She seems nervous, shifting from foot to foot and talking in a quiet tone that, even if he didn't know her all that well, he could realize that it was unlike her. He raised a brow. As far as he knew, her and Quinn had become something of friends over the past few days, as he'd seen the two of them hanging out every other hour talking about something or other. "Is that pretty crewmate of yours okay?"

He blinks. Squints a bit, before asking, "...Quinn?"

"Who else?"

She seemed flabbergasted that he even needed the clarification but, to be fair, he didn't know why she didn't just say Quinn in the first place. She's shaking her head a second later. "But yeah, is she… like, is she okay?"

He swallows, glancing towards the galley where he can hear Quinn laugh at finding Kat asleep. "...Yeah. I think so?" A pit of worry starts to build in his stomach. "Why do you ask?"

Did something happen?

He starts to scan the shore and cramped buildings of Hunting, hoping that a clue might fall out. Or perhaps an enemy to blame.

Instead, all he gets is Cinnamon seemingly confused on how he _wouldn't_ know. "Her… arms."

Immediately he feels relief wash over him. "Oh! You mean her wrist. Yeah, the doctor said she'd have to wear the cast for awhile but-"

"No."

He trails off.

"Her… _arms._ And her _legs._ " Cinnamon blinks, as if she's saying the most obvious thing in the world. "I- You don't know? Beneath her… sleeves…" She says the word with a sudden realization and looks mortified as her mouth drops open. "D-Does she always wear them?!"

Ace feels that pit return and grow even deeper.

"...Yeah?"

"... _oh._ " Evidently the wrong answer because Cinnamon falls silent for such a long time that he starts to sneaks glances back towards the galley before- Ace jumps and the struggles to reign in his fire as her hands suddenly clamp down on his shoulders and she gives him such a hard and intense staredown that he's left wondering if she's going to try and throw him into the shallows below. "You watch over her, got it? Make her smile. A pretty girl like that doesn't deserve to be sad."

"...Hah?"

Cinnamon pauses, like she might say something profound, voice barely above a whisper. "No, she's not just a pretty girl-" She says reverentially. "She's a beautiful woman. And beautiful women don't deserve to be hurt or to despair, not like that. Not like what I… saw." Ace stares, mouth falling open but she doesn't even give him the chance to try and get a word in because the intense gaze only deepens and he takes a step back as she leans too far in. " _Watch_ her. Make sure she's actually happy, okay? People like her- They're way too good at keeping a handle on their emotions when they don't want others to see- but when they can't hold them in anymore… that's when they need someone the _most_ to see them, okay?!"

Cinnamon suddenly jerks back and the intense look is gone and replaced with a tight smile.

"Cin?"

Ace, heart thudding in his chest, glances behind him to spy Quinn looking curiously down at them both. Looking unimpressed as she frowns at them. "What're you two doing?"

"Oh, nothing much." Cin smirks. "I had a question for your Captain but, as it turns out, he didn't know the answer either."

Quinn stares, gaze turning bland as she bites her lip and then lets them purse. "Yeah, I didn't hear a word you said before I came out, but that's the most obvious lie I've ever heard."

"Not technically a lie actually! It just got a little out of hand is all but I set it all straight."

"There's nothing straight about you." Quinn says reflexively, then eyes Ace and frowns when he turns his gaze away, hands raising as she turns to walk back inside. "Fine, fine. Keep your secrets. I'm going to go wake up Kat so we can actually head out for real this time."

Ace glares at Cinnamon out of the corner of his eye. "...What the hell did you see?"

"Nothing I can tell you."

He glares harder, fist clenching.

"Seriously. You- Quinn should come to you herself. I was just an accident so it's… not my story to tell. I really don't know more than you but- If she truly does wear those sleeves all the time-"

"She does. But what does that have to do with-"

"-then, when she's comfortable enough to take them off for you all, you'll see it for yourself." Cinnamon warns all of a sudden, "But don't push it. It's not something you should ever force out of someone. Just… Make sure you watch her okay? The sea can be a lonely place if you let it be."

He scowls. "If something is hurting my crew-"

"Everyone's entitled to their secrets. I'm sure you yourself have a few." He bites down on his tongue, knocking the brim of his hat down to cover his eyes and takes another step back. It's a flinch. It's masked but- To Cinnamon who's used to reading body language instead of expressions, it's telling. "A good Captain can respect his crews'."

He grits his teeth but nods. He… has to agree to that. Because she's right, even if Ace is worried and she's planted a seed of fear in his chest. "Just watch her. You're smart, at least that's what she tells me," he flushes, "I think you'll be able to pick out the right things."

She's nodding then and walking away as Kat hops outside, a smile on his face and wrapped up in Quinn's jacket, leaving Ace to simply watch her back as she follows after where her sisters disappeared off to. "Hey, Ace! Are we leaving for sure now?"

It takes a moment too long for him to answer and he doesn't miss the suspicious look Quinn tosses his way. "...Yeah. _Yeah,_ it doesn't look like Spice is coming."

"Too bad. I liked that guy."

It takes them awhile to get used to using the larger ship and Quinn shows off her lack of knowledge by repeatedly asking questions and for clarifications and-

"What the hell do you mean it's _this_ rope? I thought you said it was that one!"

-and soon Hunting and Starving and Nest and the whole of the Twin Isle's is nothing more than a dark spot on the horizon with a thin trail of dark smoke rising up from it.

"Hey, Kat! Did you already put your stuff away in your locker?" Quinn calls from where she's taking inventory, taking immaculately organized notes in a small, empty booklet she'd discovered alongside a few blank journals on the bookshelf. "I know Ace hasn't yet."

"No! I just put my bag on the bed for now."

There's a moment of silence, the squeak of a locker shutting and the bathroom door opening and- well, they're out on deck but they can still hear the huff of surprise Quinn let's out as she walks back into the galley. "...I think we have a friend!"

Ace and Kat share a glance before rushing inside and gaping at the tall frame in a simple white button up and black slacks. A lazy smirk drifting across his face as he washes his hands, pulls out a pan, and clicks a cameko as he documents all of their reactions, "So… any requests?"

The cheer is loud and simultaneous.

_"Spice!"_

-0-

"It's omurice."

He gives his mother a flat look, all seven years of his entire being drilling her with a hard stare as she rolls her eyes and bounces his two year old sister- Cinnamon- on her knee. "...I don't know if you know this, Mom, but that's a pretty common dish to. Hm. I don't know. _The whole world!"_

"It is." She confirms, unbothered by his attitude.

He pouts. "I wanted to cook something special with you! S-Something that's-"

"Omurice _is_ special."

"No, it's not! I could ask anyone on the street and they'd know how to cook omurice! I want to cook something that's not common-"

"Just because it's common to you and me, doesn't mean that it's common to everyone." She hums and opens the cookbook again. "And just because you ask everyone on the street, doesn't mean they'll always give you the same answer. Go on. Flip through the pages."

He scowls but does as told.

"Notice something?"

"It's… It's all omurice."

"And what's different about it?"

His frown lightens a touch. "The island name… and the… instructions… and… _everything?"_ He flips through the pages again. From back to front there's instructions on nothing but different versions of omurice.

"Just because we perceive something one way, doesn't mean that others don't see it in another." She smiles. "It's not about the rareness of the dish. It's about your intent to learn and understand it. Besides, for all you know, you might meet someone who's never even heard of omurice before and maybe they'll have a dish that they can't believe _you've_ never heard of. It's all about perspective."

Spice scoffs, "No way. I've heard of almost every dish there is. There's no way they could know about one if I've never heard of it before!"

She flicks him on the forehead and his sister giggles, small hands clapping over her mouth. "Don't be a brat. You'll set a bad example for your sister."

"What? No I won't!"

He proceeds to stick a tongue out at his mother and then blinks in surprise when Cinnamon copied him back.

"Oh, you won't, will you?"

"H-Hey, I- I didn't say to copy me!"

His mother snorts. "Well, as punishment, I guess you'll just have to choose an omurice to prepare."

"But I-"

"No buts!" She claps her hands. "Off you go, I'll be supervising, but it'll be your own fault if you burn yourself. You have to learn to be careful and- You had better wash your hands first before you even _think_ of touching that fridge, Spice!"

"I'm going, I'm going…"

He grumbles as his mother sighs and goes back to bouncing Cinnamon up and down. Watching as her son decided on a Special Omurice from a West Blue area and set all the ingredients on the counter before only glancing at the instructions once before starting. She snorts as he looks down and panics halfway through once he realizes he's accidentally skipped two steps and is too late to pre-prepare the additional ingredients they like to add in the West and-

Overall, it's a disaster.

And she really can't stop smiling as a teary Spice presents her with his dish and nearly punches the counter in frustration as she takes a bite and says, "It was good."

He's sniffling within seconds, trying his best to not cry. Oh, her sweet boy, he was terrible at controlling his emotions and she loved every second of watching his cute self go through all his anger and frustration. He just _so_ reminded her of when she was young.

"B-But it came out terrible- why are you saying that its-"

She smiles at him.

"Spice, do you know what my reputation as a chef is?"

"I- of course," he then recites, "The Sage of the East! The amazing-chef that has gathered the most variety of dishes from all across the world, known for only ever consuming food that… that tastes good…" He frowns down at the floor, brows scrunching. "But then- then why did you eat mine…?"

"I'll let you in on a little secret, my dear Spice." She winks. "It's because you tried."

"I don't…"

"All food can be good food. If you just try." She smiles. "Honestly, that title is a bit misleading. I don't eat food because I find it good or bad or anything in between. I eat food because I can taste the _potential."_

"Huh?"

"The potential for a dish to be made, for a combination with these ingredients- if someone is truly trying their best, trying to learn and improve… that is the food that I want to eat. Because, even if it's bad, I can see what that person can become in the future." Her eyes sparkle and she juggles Cinnamon onto her hip as she leans down to poke Spice on the nose. "And you? I can see nothing but the makings of a great chef in you."

"B-But… I… I was arrogant. I barely tried…"

"Hm, not at first, true. But about halfway through, you started to realize that, didn't you? And you tried to fix your mistakes instead of leaving them to fester. You made mistakes, you tried to fix them, and now you've learned from them. If that isn't trying, I don't know what is."

He sniffles and rubs his face into his arm.

"Th… Thanks…"

"It's no problem. You want to be a chef don't you? Like me?"

"...Better than you."

She laughs.

"I'll… I'll write books and everything. With pictures. It'll…" He sniffs. "It'll make your books look like pocket change."

She laughs harder.

Oh, her boy was a riot!

"You'll probably have to go off to sea to pull that off." He nods and, if anything, only looks more determined. "Okay, well. I can't wait to see that day."

"...So how good was the omurice really?"

"Oh, it was absolutely terrible."

"...I _knew_ it."

She laughs until her stomach hurts and Cinnamon is confused by what's happening and, when she looks up and takes in the sight of her pouting son, her eyes are so filled with unbridled life that it seems to light up the very room.

.

.

.

Find more on my tumblr [@terrutt](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/terrutt)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you said that Tiberius poisoned Spice's mother, you were ~correct~!
> 
> Also, yes. Cinnamon x Quinn was a thing. (Cinnamon is aromantic lesbian if you want specifics.) And now they're friends. Bonds of sadness, people. *clap clap* I was always planning on having Quinn kill someone this arc, the who and the how is what varied- because she really needs an eyeopener to the life she's found herself committed to. Which is why she apologized to Ace for not being a good crewmate, she wasn't as serious about it as he was, for multiple reasons, so she made mistakes because of it. (Her mindset was stuck in the silliness of East Blue when it should've been in the Sabaody Arc).
> 
> They have a ship!!! One not quite as impressive as the Going-Merry but they can have a flag now! That's cool, right? Everyone is very happy with the Stellar.
> 
> And, also, Spice! Who joined! And, because he's dramatic like that, he had to make it a whole thing.


	16. Interlude I: East Blue Sailing! A Bounty, or Three, Reveal Themselves!

It wasn't often that news from the East Blue made the paper. In fact, she doubted she'd ever even seen _anything_ from there make the front page. What with North Blue's history of conquest imposed by Germa 66 and the West Blue's rampant Mafia groups and struggles for power, in addition to the general news from the Grand Line- it rarely made the World Economy Newspaper. After all, it was rare for the weakest sea to see anything close to competing with the rest of the world's turmoil.

That was why there were so few Marines stationed there. There'd been some influx since Arlong disappeared into it, dragging Fishman crewmates behind him as he went, but with the Shichibukai Jinbei seeing him as a brother… there wasn't much they could do without breaking his contract and subsequently pissing off all the _rest_ of the Shichibukai. (One does not simply breach a contract with pirates, even if said pirates could give less than a shit about each other.) Though, considering the lack of trouble Arlong had been getting up to, they'd stopped going out of their way to look for him.

(She'd been told that there was a rather dedicated Marine Captain that had been working overtime to protect the civilians there, if he should ever truly cause trouble. A Nezu- Captain Nezumi, if she recalled correctly. She would like to meet him, a Marine like that, he must be an honorable man.)

So, when she settled in to quickly go over any and all paperwork that reached her desk, she wasn't expecting one of her crewmen to run in with the day's paper, shouting, "C-Commodore-! Commodore Isuka! The- The newspaper has published an article from the East Blue and- and you're not going to believe this."

Isuka takes one look at the headline and grits her teeth.

"Why was I not briefed on this?!"

She raced to read the print, gloved hands crinkling the paper beneath her fingers, not knowing how it was already made public knowledge when each and every Marine and Government official should have already been told before anything went out. Something like this, of this magnitude, of this… this _disgrace!_

"To burn down their entire livelihood…" She slams the paper on her desk, fist cracking the wood beneath it. The burn on her hand itches like a harsh reminder, as it always did. "...I'm reminded again and again every single day why pirates-"

Her eyes flash with fury.

"-are the _scum of the earth!"_

…

…

"It's them! It's them!"

Dahlia can't help but giggle as the Den Den Mushi's eyes lit up with sheer joy. Her lips purse, amusement dripping from her voice as she fails with trying not to laugh. "It is rather obvious if you've seen them before, isn't it?"

"It _is_ though!"

"I mean, how many pirates are there that wear bright orange cowboy hats-?" Dahlia couldn't stop the snort, covering her mouth. "Ooh, but you know how long it's going to take the Marines to put two-and-two together. Roddie was just a bad apple- the rest though! They have no excuse."

Maple giggles. "Garp started throwing cannonballs at rocks once he saw the news! He's got pretty good aim, you know!"

Dahlia smirks. "Ooh? How has training been with him by the way?" She shifts in her seat, legs crossing as she folds the news piece away and slides it into a drawer. Something tells her she's going to be collecting quite the sum of news clippings about their dear Varela's little pirate crew and this is just the first of many to be found, even if it doesn't actually name any of them. "Being trained by a Vice-Admiral… that must be tough."

"Ah-ha, I can't feel my bones anymore!"

She sounds way too happy to be saying that.

"But it's going good! We just left visiting Garp's home island-" she chirps, "-it's too bad I had to help out on deck all week, I really wanted to meet his other grandson! Apparently, he wants to be a pirate, just like Ace!"

Dahlia can't help the cackle that escapes her. "He sure has quite the selection of kids there, doesn't he?! What sort of karma does Garp have-?!"

…

…

"...the papers come, if you want to read it? There's some news from a couple islands over that you might want to take a look at."

"Why? We have things to do, don't we-"

"We think it… We think it might be about Katsura and those pirates that kidnapped you."

"...What?"

Tava rushes to steal the paper from their hands, brow already furrowed in anger as he grits his teeth and glares down at the harsh print that describes a general group of pirates with- with a pirate in a bright orange cowboy hat among them. The picture- a destroyed building, recognized as a Celestial Dragon Ingredients Plant run by a man named Tiberius and an ex-Marine Captain named Kigu who were labeled as missing after the destruction and-

He crushes the paper in his hand and shakes his head. "Well, we know what direction to not go in, don't we?"

It gets a round of agreement from those that listen.

"Ever since Kat left, the seas have been clear. Not a bad current in sight. Not like before-" Tava tosses the paper down and crushes it beneath his heel. "-it's just proof to all of us that… that _monster_ was responsible for every problem our island has ever faced in recent years! If we make sure to keep out of his way as we sail, we'll be fine."

"But…" someone tentatively calls from behind and tilts their head, "...shouldn't we be worried?"

"Yeah, we should- like, call the Marines or something-?"

Tava snorts. "They never helped us. Why should we warn them?" And tugs his jacket closer around him as he stomps off back towards the boats the islanders were preparing, "Besides, do you really think they'd believe that a group of pirates have a Sea Beast under their control? That- That _bastard,_ Katsura, somehow convinced it to follow him. It's the only place it could have gone, so only we know the truth."

That, once he left, far beyond the horizon, and the islanders slept a little easier knowing that one source of their fear was gone, they were surprised to not see the crashing waves that ate their shorelines. Harsh waves hardly more than an echo that grew dimmer with each day that passed. As if the Beast had been truly, finally, defeated-

Only, when the few brave souls that dared to pull up a makeshift boat and search the waters, there was no sign of a body. No corpse to haul back and present, displaying the victory.

Just unsettling quiet waves and a boat long having disappeared beyond where they could search.

"Doesn't mean we have to share it!"

…

…

"W-Where is this?"

He stares upwards in shock and finds himself quickly taking notes as he describes the world around them, hoping to capture his feelings and the atmosphere properly. He's not sure on how well he managed but he'll go over it later to figure out how to better word it- so it comes out as something he can be proud of.

The world around him- it's still.

As if frozen.

They're the only thing that moves on the sea and he can't tell you how, not for sure. Because there's no wind to push or pull at the sails and no oars pulled out by the rest of the crew. They're moving and it seems that only the veterans on the crew know how. "It's the Calm Belt." His Captain- Roddie- settles in on the railing next to his own seat, a warm smile across his face as he dramatically throws an arm up. As if showing off the emptiness. "This ship… it used to belong to the Marines. You can even still see some of the paint underneath. It was made specially to cross the Calm Belt."

Jones, who is setting up the table for everyone to eat at, calls with a long-toothed grin. What he had prepared was a bit odd looking but, if he was being honest, it smelled like heaven- though, to be fair, that was most food to him nowadays. It wasn't just Jones. "It's how we escaped most of the forces that followed us out of Mariejois, Deuce!"

He blinks and then makes sure to make a note of that as Roddie sticks his tongue out at his chef and his first mate. The blonde only laughs in response.

That had been something curious to learn about once he had regained the majority of his strength. That the Creep Pirates had gained their bounties and reputations from running into Mariejois and only managed to come out with a book on Devil Fruits, of all things. Something that Deuce hadn't known to really exist- not until they told him otherwise and gave examples of infamous pirates and famous Marines that utilized the powers.

It was also something that-

That the crew refused to give him many details about. No matter how he asked or who. They'd simply grimace, say something cryptic that told him nothing, and his novel was slowly becoming much, much more steeped in mystery than he had ever assumed it would.

"And after that… you were trying to locate a specific fruit?" He asked. More for clarification than anything. "That led you to hide out on an island called Saigen, in plain sight of the Marines, is that right?"

"Yep!" Roddie chirps.

"Where someone stole it from you and ate it?"

The nod Roddie gives is a bit sad but it still does have him huffing out a small smile and- "Actually, here." Roddie holds up today's newspaper and gives it to Deuce, stopping his notes for a minute. "Front page. That's the crew that stole the Luck Luck Fruit from us. Something that… well, it would've made all our lives easier if we had gotten our hands on it."

Deuce blinks down at the page in question, eyes narrowing slowly as he reads every word and commits the description to memory. "...What did you need it for?"

"Money. We could've gone to any casino and had a steady influx of money for any and all purposes. Technically stealing. Technically not." Roddie sighs. "Of course, it just couldn't be-"

"What do you need that much money for?"

"To pay off Fischer, of course!"

That's a joke, obviously. And Deuce raises a brow as he waits for an actual answer. Roddie seems to lose whatever exuberance that he had and turn… almost dreary. It's a look that doesn't suit his normally smirking face and Deuce shifts uncomfortably because- he really doesn't like that look. "It… That amount of money and the freedom to access it whenever… it would have allowed us to buy back our…" He shakes his head and hops off the railing. "Well, it's not that important, at the moment. Not anymore. We'll just have to figure out some other way to get money."

Deuce watches him turn to leave, completely bypassing the lunch table and clutches the newspaper tighter in his grip.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Jones offers him his arm to help him to the table and he takes it carefully, apology on his tongue. "It's a long story. The Captain- He'll tell you eventually. Just know that it's… something incredibly important to him. Something he wants to get back."

And Deuce nods. But his gaze hasn't left the newspaper, not completely, and he takes careful notes before he picks up his fork and actually digs in. Determined to get the information down no matter how hungry he is or how delicious the food smells.

...

...

Dadan pops the cork off of a sake bottle with an ease that spoke volumes of her character. It's only mid-afternoon but stress lines are starting to already appear on her face as her eye twitches. If she'd thought for even a second that, with Ace gone, it would be easier keeping hold of Luffy without his influence- she was dead wrong. "What a world it is…" Her eye twitches harder as she takes in the disaster that is her hut. "When you realize that Ace was the _good one._ "

There really is no getting a hang of the disastrous whirlwind that was Monkey D. Luffy. And, even if they got mad at him, all he did was laugh and carry on with his day. Maybe they'd be lucky to get a completely unapologetic sorry out of him but otherwise…

Otherwise, if they were hoping for any bit of calm, they were shit out-of-luck.

"He… slingshotted through the roof."

"There's a… Well, actually, I'm not sure what that is. Deer? Bear? Moose? Shoved into the fridge and-" The bandit in question grimaces. "Let's just say that it does _not_ fit."

At least he was sleeping right now. Snoring away on the floor and wrapped up with medicine and bandages from another run-in with Garp. His grandfather had done quite the number on him, especially with how pissed he was to learn that Ace had taken off without telling him- which, what the hell did he expect?- and had even run into the brat by accident. Luffy had nearly cried in relief when he learnt that his brother had managed to escape with the help of some criminal lady that had presumably joined Ace's crew already.

_"Snore~!"_

Oh, she could already feel a headache coming on.

"Boss! Boss!"

Aah. There it is.

_"What?!"_

"T-The news-! The news! I didn't realize it before, but it h-has to be." The bandit stuttered. "It's Ace!"

The whole room falls silent.

Luffy's snot bubble pops and he leaps to his feet and, "Ace! Let me see-!" And completely overshoots the slingshot and adds another whole to the huts wall.

Dadan is quick to rip the newspaper from her lackey's hand and to whip open the page he had been pointing to and- She doesn't even need to see the description to know that it's him. Her eyes fill with tears unbidden and she wipes her eyes, "Damn brat…"

The title…

The title tells her all she really needs to know.

The paper is stolen from her hands by a screeching Luffy desperate for any news or bounty on his older brother, excitement so palpable that it has everyone else scrambling to read over his shoulder as he eyes zoom across words. Too fast to actually comprehend them. And Dadan-

"Told him not to but- guess I really couldn't stop him, huh? He's already off… challenging the world." She smirks a little. "Heh. Knew he would. He's been doin' it since the day he was born."

Dadan is lost in memories.

…

Ace once sat down across from Dadan in the middle of the night, arms crossed and legs crossed. That sort of haunting, harsh stare that had only gotten worse over the years on his face.

Dadan would sip her cup, as if it didn't bother her. He'd notice if she'd let him. And she refused to let him see how much older it made her feel. How empty it did too. Dry and barren and a husk of what she once was.

She hates that he looks so much stronger than her. That he's had to be. Part of her is proud too. A bigger part hates that it makes him look so much older than he is.

She… knew she was a terrible parent. Knew she was a bad guardian. Had known that any effort she had put in would be in vain- someone like her, she was not made for this kind of work.

It didn't stop the fact that her heart broke when he spoke.

Or, the part that she buried inside, that loved him like a son, curdled with rage and contempt for the ones that caused it.

". _..Why?_ "

It's rare that Ace breaks. The mask falls away and a whimpering, tired, and cracking boy can be seen for just a moment. In the way his voice cracks, a high pitched creak that's wet and threatens to spill over.

The ones they call gods. The ones that rule the world.

"Because they can."

Sabo was not her son like Ace was. But he was one of her kids. One of her boys. And, when Ace leaves, slumped and dragging his feet, a corpse of a child, Dadan cries.

Because she is powerless. And she knows she is nothing.

But she never wanted him to think he was too.

…

It's a terrible thing to realize that, of all the things that she'd failed at teaching him, it was to know when to not pick a fight. It was something she regretted- something she knew she'd exacerbated far beyond reason, under some stupid and naïve thought that it would only have him stronger and more prepared in the long run.

Just another mistake of many.

"Oy, crack open another bottle! We're celebratin'!"

She ignores the cheers that erupt, taking her cup in her hand and gulping it down as if it were a shot. The acidic burn in the back of her throat only serving to clog her up even moreso-

She wasn't crying. She wasn't upset!

After all. They were bandits. And bandits could celebrate one of their own growing up and choosing his own path in life.

She just hoped that Ace was prepared to face the consequences of the world bearing down on him once it inevitably learns of his transgressions, that he would have people loyal to stand by his side- because he was finally getting his wish, wasn't he?

To give a response back to the so-called 'world' that stole a brother from him.

Dadan was smart enough to know that, even if he hadn't truly meant to, Ace could never back down from a fight once it started- even one he accidentally involved himself in. And this was just the beginning of what she hoped wouldn't be just another short story.

-0-

A fun little fact about bounties.

Not everyone got a wanted poster.

"Hey, Ace!"

A quick glance reveals him perched on the crows nest seat, yellow shirt billowing and orange hat knocked off his head. It's a windy day, one that has Quinn grumbling and pinning her hair back with bobby pins and small, messy braids pulled into what Kat… thinks is supposed to be a bun. It's such a mess that he can hardly make sense of it, so he settles on simply shaking his head as Ace takes a look down at where he stands. "Here! Look-" He holds up the newspaper a bit, careful not to let go lest it get stolen from his hands. "You might want to read this!"

"Please tell me it's nothing bad…" Quinn groans.

"Aa, _well._ "

"That doesn't fill me with confidence, Kat."

Not everyone got a specified amount either.

It made sense. The amount of paper needed to produce a single copy of the World Economy news across the world… the cost alone would be astronomical- hell, even just the smaller regional newspapers that only covered certain parts of each of the Blues, simplifying the process in the case of a criminal had a specific area of operation, had trouble printing all the bounties specific to them. Considering all of that, it was actually pretty rare that someone got a bounty that was seen _worldly._ Twenty Million was the minimum, but there were exceptions to every rule _(cough Chopper cough)_ , and, with criminals usually having an area of operations specific to them that they rarely left, the "worldly" bounties were more along the lines of pirates or island-hoppers.

(And the marines wondered why pirates were so gung-ho about infamy. They were just exacerbating the problem by giving them the most attention.)

But that didn't really matter. The point was… the cost of printing every single bounty across the world… it was astronomical.

(It was one reason why Nico Robin was so hunted, hers was spread across every civilian's dinner table, despite having a bounty that was now-considered pretty average overall. The Marines rarely updated for inflation. Of which there had been quite a bit over the years.)

If it wasn't for the existence of slavery, Quinn would wonder how it was possible without the technology she was used to.

That said, that was only _one_ of the reasons why there wouldn't be a wanted poster. The other reason, though? Relatively simple. Sometimes- Sometimes they just didn't have a picture or a concrete idea of who the criminal was.

"Is it about us?!" Ace calls down and they can all see that there's untamable fire trailing from his head and hands as he leaps down onto deck and Quinn finds herself clapping sarcastically at the sight- he'd made a rather impressive superhero landing there. Very cool. "I thought we didn't want there to be anything?"

"We didn't." Quinn moaned. "Someone must've talked."

Kat's head tilts as he holds the paper up. "A- Aa, I mean, technically it was kept under wraps so- so I think we're good."

"What do you mean by _'technically'?"_

CELESTIAL DRAGONS OUTRAGED! MYSTERIOUS PIRATES DESTORY EAST BLUE SPICE FACTORY!

Quinn squints, reading over Kat's shoulder with Ace on his other side. "Does… Does that say destory?" She snickers. "Someone's getting fired." It went all over the world too. She felt a little guilty actually- they probably rushed the story because of them and everything.

_In shocking news, an East Blue Spice factory financed by the Celestial Dragons that produces the majority of the world's number one spices was destroyed by an unnamed pirate group. The destruction, the result of arson, spreads across the island and has left the majority of the residents homeless and without jobs. Many of whom are being forced to leave the island and move to a smaller island, named Starving after its lack of resources, instead of staying._

_In response to the people's outrage the Government, at the urging of the Celestial Dragons, have issued a bounty for the pirates responsible and a reward for anyone with any information on the identities of the pirate group. The only descriptions that authorities could find at the scene was of a few pirates of a larger group, presumed to be an armada: the first, an older man with a on-fire bright, orange cowboy hat that wielded flamethrowers; the second, a dark woman that could instantly kill a person with just a look, theorized to be a Devil Fruit of some kind; and a third, a sword wielding Fishman with a scarred face. If any information is found then please…_

"Okay. That is… very wrong?"

"Apparently, Kat and Spice have fused, chehaha!"

"I can kill people… with just a look? What the hell? Were they playing telephone when they were being told this?"

"The-" Kat snorted a little with laughter. "The only thing they got right is Ace's hat! And- even then, why did they specify that it's on fire?"

Ace's head turns to flames unconsciously and they all nod: "Oohh~ that's fair."

"Well, it might've been the embroidery I put in, too." Quinn smirked. "Oh, oh. Maybe I can get some commissions, Ace- brag about me."

"I don't know… that's gonna be hard."

She goes to punch him in the arm but he dodges, glad that she misses the relief on his face from missing the hit and not finding her hand burnt as it passed through. He shakes his head to clear the sudden jump of bad thoughts away.

The door to the galley opens and Spice comes creeping out, moving over to a corner of the deck where he had begun to set up a small training area, a box of weights wheeled in after him. He stares at their crowded forms and then raises a brow: "What did I miss?" To which they hold up the paper for him to read himself, the blank look on his face bored and unchanging. Until he lifts his gaze up and says, "Maybe I should file a lawsuit. I didn't realize they named the factory after me."

Ace and Kat blink, bemused.

Oh. _Spice_ Factory.

Quinn snorts.

"Can you even Copyright yourself?"

…

…

Quinn would like to say that nothing changed after that. She really, really would. Unfortunately, one small thing came of it and left her completely strung out to dry.

What was it, you ask?

Why-

It was Ace getting cocky of course.

"Ace, please," she moaned, dragging her good hand down her face, "Never, ever get famous. It'll all go straight to your head."

He's not listening.

Because… yeah. She should've guessed. But still.

The first time it happens, they're on some island that none of them really care to learn the name of- well, other than Spice, she's come to learn that if he isn't cooking then he's either got his camera snapping or is writing in a plain-looking journal that's _already_ over crowded with all the extra papers stuffed into it. The explanation she gets, when she asks, is, "Cook book and logbook," which she had completely forgotten about the latter being a necessity and was glad that someone knew what they were doing.

("Speaking of, Kat." The boy jumps to attention. It's rather cute, actually, he salutes and everything in a sort of bastardization of the marines. "You should probably start keeping one as well, but for navigational information."

"S-Sure! I don't know how well I can make it though… I'm better at drawing than writing."

Quinn sighs. "I'll help. We'll just make one for everyone to add to."

"Like a pirate diary?" Ace asks, confused, but there's an excited interest there. Like it was something new that he hadn't really thought about beforehand and couldn't wait to hear about. That was one thing Quinn was starting to notice about him- he was incredibly enthusiastic about learning new things, and it would be a lie to say that she didn't think it was unexpected. Though, on a second thought, she couldn't help but think that it made sense. There probably wasn't a lot of learning opportunities with bandits and certainly not ones where there was… er. A _decent teacher_ is probably the nicest way to put it.

Frankly, Quinn is a little surprised to find that everyone she's met so far seemed to be able to read and write, let alone the extra skills people seemed to be cultivating in random areas.

"Yes, Ace, exactly like a pirate diary."

It ends up with Kat carrying around a bunch of pens and a journal that Quinn had turned into a handmade excel sheet on the right-hand side and a free for all on the left, where it was filled with either: Kat's doodles of islands or strange currents and shells he found; pictures of them or notable landmarks that Spice had taken; and Quinn and Ace's random musings… the latter of which was usually a response to one of the others rather than his own personal thoughts. It was incredibly messy but- somehow made sense? It helped that they each chose their own color of pen to write with and had incredibly different handwriting.

Ace grabbed an orange pen and had shockingly clear and simple letters. The thing that made them distinct, though, was the fact that they were often spaced far apart, to the point it was almost awkward to look at, and were written like he was about to tear the page with the tip of the pen. It wasn't a surprise to find the pen spilling ink every now and again or his lines coming out incredibly thick. And it was a little adorable watching him write because he stuck his tongue out as he did it with such a look of concentration on his face that it almost looked like he was trying to glare a hole in the paper itself. They're pretty sure it's because he doesn't want to get any of it wrong. He also signed his name like his tattoo and Quinn had almost bodied Spice trying to keep him from saying anything because she _so_ did not want that can-of-worms opened right now.

Quinn would have selected a yellow pen if it wasn't for the fact that… well, it was _yellow_. It was just terrible to write with unless you were doing it on non-white paper, which, they weren't and she begrudgingly said goodbye to her favorite color. So, instead she was supremely boring, going with a simple black one-

Wait, no.

Kat plucked it from her fingers and instead handed her the dark purple one, looking away as she raised a brow at him.

Compared to the others, Quinn probably had the messiest handwriting, mostly for sheer speed at the ease in which she wrote. Also, she probably had the most spelling mistakes and corrections out of everyone. Crossing out words and rewriting them above once she noticed. More due to her thinking faster than her hand could catch up with. Combined with her habit of making lowercase a, e, and s's cursive and the fact that her lowercase g and j's looked similar to the point it was hard to distinguish between the two… yeah. Her handwriting was probably the worst, even if the most grammatically correct and with the best syntax.

Kat had the prettiest handwriting. Letters small and written almost like he was typing them. The only strange thing that Quinn could find is that none of the letters seemed to change size- the capitalization on his K was the same size as the lowercase a in his name. And then there was the fact that he put little whiskers around his signature and- it was very cutesy. The color he'd chosen was a dark, but vibrant, green.

And then Spice had chosen yellow- the _fucker_ \- and seemed completely disinterested in the fact that it was incredibly hard to read any of his writing, especially if they held it up to the light. The only thing Quinn could actively tell about any of it was that he seemed content to make nothing but bullet point notes instead of actual sentences and his letters were all thin and tall and took up the most room. Easily beating out Ace's writing.

The only solace that they had, because he would have easily filled a page without a care in the world, was that he kept his writing to the back of the photographs he added for the most part. Or slapped a sticky note on a page after they were done with it and _then_ wrote his own information down.

Quinn could honestly say that the writing seemed to suit him.

But she was still kinda annoyed that he chose yellow after she passed it up.)

They find themselves in some bar and the lot of them really aren't paying that much attention.

To Ace, specifically.

Not that they normally needed to. The young adult could handle himself in every sense of the word and they would be hard pressed to find somebody in the East Blue that could give him a run for his money. Something that, disappointingly, Quinn had actually been hoping wouldn't happen even if she knew the likelihood of haki… it was just- Ace was very obviously the kind of guy that would get arrogant if he was left without trial for too long and a Logia- Ugh, a _logia!_ Would not help him curb that bad habit. But the point was that, being in a bar, simply eating and drinking and doing something normal, there didn't seem to be any need to pay him mind.

After all, it wasn't as if he was doing anything particularly worthy of note, just sitting on a bar stool, legs crossed back behind the bars of it, and lazily engaged in a conversation with a bartender that looked impossibly bored out of his mind, so there was no reason to worry. At one point, even, Quinn had leaned over to catch the tail end of their conversation and got something along the lines of- "What's in this? Do you have any tabasco-?" -and immediately checked out of the conversation.

The rest of them weren't with him. Having chosen to instead hide away at a booth when the stares and looks Kat was getting were starting to make him anxious- Quinn had glared at a giggling snooty looking girl so hard she cried and Spice had seemed mildly impressed by it- and were now busy distracting themselves watching Spice judge the food they'd been given with a critical eye.

It was…

Surprisingly entertaining.

Because, despite his expression seemingly never changing, there were minute differences in the muscles on his face that, in watching closely, just came out stranger and stranger with each time he tasted something new.

Quinn and Kat had to laugh at him. And Kat was rather exuberant in letting him try bits and pieces of his own food just so he could see his reactions.

Honestly, it was pretty quiet, with light chatter and conversation from the other patrons, giving the whole bar a lively sort of feel. It was a comforting atmosphere that they could each just- relax in. Which, after days and days at sea, was something that they desperately wanted for a little while, having just come out of a storm that- wasn't bad, just exceedingly long lasting and generally annoying. Even Ace had been exhausted by it, more tired than usual because his narcolepsy had been acting up at the most inopportune times and only Quinn had been able to really pay attention to his faltering steps- Kat was much too busy in the water, though prepared to catch him if he fell in, and Spice was proving to be an MVP when it came to holding the ships course and keeping to Kat's shouted instructions- and, once they'd actually caught a break to sleep, Ace had been stuck with a bout of insomnia that had him taking watch and doing pushups on deck.

So, yes, they were all thankful to find a dusty town that was dreadfully average. And there didn't seem to be a problem to be found, other than Kat's uncomfortableness with garnering attention, but, of course, someone had to come in and ruin it all.

Wow. Shocking.

"Hey, Quinn," she hums a noncommittal response to Katsura because her fork is hanging from her mouth and she's trying to read the back of a jar of hot sauce with a pandaman making muscles with a fiery background behind him, "Your fruit is kinda weird, isn't it?"

She turns to stare down at her plate, confused. "...no?" It just looked like normal fruit, if a bit unripe.

He's equally confused.

For a moment.

And then sputters: "Wha… What- no! _No!_ I meant, I meant your Devil Fruit."

Oh.

"Oh." Her brow furrows, "What about it?"

Spice interrupts just as Kat opens his mouth. "You ate a Devil Fruit too?"

"Y-Yeah? You didn't know?"

"...No one tells me anything."

"A-Ah," Quinn rubs the back of her neck sheepishly, "Sorry. I just figured… Well!" She coughs into her shoulder, a little embarrassed. "I ate the Luck Luck Fruit and am now a lucky woman."

Spice looks her up and down.

Stares.

And then snorts. "Luck isn't a power."

"I mean, you're not _wrong_." Quinn grimaced. "I don't know what to do with it half the time. Especially since I only really affect people."

"Well that's just it," Kat turns to her midway through shoving some parts of his food onto Spice's already piled high plate, "I wouldn't think that luck has enough… _tangibility_ to be something of value. How exactly does it even work? Can you like… feel luck?"

That was a question that has her scrunching up her face, trying to find the right words. "It's like… setting a bunch of alerts on your phone but forgetting to put the sound on, so all you get is the notification once it's gone."

_"...What?"_

Right. Not a thing here.

She looks up, trying again but much slower and even less unsure this time. "...It's like setting up a bunch of alarm clocks but the alarm itself is broken so all you get when they go off is a...the hands stopping." She tilted her head. "It's not that I actively… feel it, when I leave a mark on, say Ace, but I can't forget that I made it in the first place. Like- I left a mark on Ace when he went off with Spice in the factory but I knew that it disappeared sometimes towards the end there."

Spice stares. "Was it that gold thing on his tattoo?"

"Yeah."

"It disappeared when he and I switched one time. Kigu had been about to stab him with a water covered sword," he hums slightly, "the bullets only hit where water had covered his skin, didn't actually hurt him on the inside even though they went through, but a sword saturated in liquid… that would have done damage, wouldn't it?"

"...Yeah, pretty sure."

Kat, distracted now by the conversation, doesn't notice Spice grab the hot sauce from Quinn and lean over to pour it on his food. "Huh. So- like, can you control the luck?"

"Mnh. I mean, like the intent, yeah? I can give people bad and good luck." Quinn frowns. "But I'm not even really sure how I've been doing that. It just kinda… worked out that way." She winces. "Aa, that sounds bad, doesn't it?"

"You're just winging it?"

"...I never know what I'm doing at any given moment of any day."

Spice nods, like he expected as much. Quinn tries to not feel a little offended.

"But then-" Kat frowns. "How do you… What does it... " He's having a hard time wrapping his head around it and Quinn- Quinn feels that. Seriously. She doesn't know what's going on with it. "If you give people good and bad luck… how do you go from there?"

She muses over the question, turning it over. Quite frankly she'd been vaguely wondering about it herself before but now that it's been asked more directly she's actually trying to figure out ideas and- It's hard to think about, since luck is such a… non-physical thing. And she's not sure what sort of drawbacks she'll find once she dives into it more but… "Well, right now, I've only been using it actively. Maybe I can rig a way to use it passively, so it's always affecting me or people around me. Or figure out how to use it on objects rather than people- or activate it through something other than touch." She offers. "Or just being able to control when it's used. Because, right now, a mark could save you from tripping over your own feet or it could save you from getting stabbed with a sword. That's not worth much. When it could disappear before you _really_ need it."

Kat nods slowly and she feels a little bad because it seems like he's still having a hard time understanding. "That still doesn't explain…"

"I don't know. I-" She struggles. "It's more like I'm affecting the ratios of something happening and spinning it towards one end. Like when you flip a coin, it should be fifty-fifty. But, with a luck mark, you're more likely to be short on a flip or make it too long and that may make it more thirty-seventy instead."

She shrugs: "What I'm more worried about is the downsides."

"Downsides?"

"Like drowning?"

She shakes her head. "Ace's physiology has been entirely changed. He can barely touch people without bursting into flames, he doesn't feel pain unless someone works around his fruit. That's a downside, at least, _I'm_ pretty sure it is." She turns to Ace, brows furrowed, and a soft frown drifts onto her face that both Spice and Kat recognize as being a look of worry. Ace doesn't notice the look or the route the conversation has gone so he doesn't say anything, much too busy eating. So Quinn just shakes her head and moves on. "I haven't… really noticed anything problematic like that. So while Ace has already been working to overcome his drawbacks, I can't seem to find any. And, when they show up, I'm not going to know how to fix them, especially if they show up at a bad time."

"Maybe you don't have any?" Kat, thinking way too positively, chirps.

Spice immediately shakes his head.

"Oh. I may have the luck fruit but I'm not nearly so lucky." She sighs. "Shit, it's probably going to be a give-take kind of deal or something… That's gonna suck. Power balancing is _weird._ "

Kat goes to take a bite of his food and Quinn covers her mouth to hide her smirk as Spice finally looks triumphant. "GAH- SON OF A- Spice! What the hell, man?! What even is this-?!" He retches, reaching for a glass of water and practically drowning himself with it.

"It's…" Spice begins slowly, staring down at him blankly. "The burn of knowledge."

_"The hell it is!"_

"Kehahaha!" Quinn couldn't help it, burying her face into her hands and howling in laughter.

Across the room, Ace had turned at Katsura's pained shout, only to chuckle when he realized there wasn't anything serious going on and he could go back to conversing with the bartender. The man snorted at the scene. "Quite the rambunctious group of friends you got there."

"Yeah…" Ace grinned. "They're great, aren't they?"

"If you say so," He rubs a random glass down with a rag, probably just to be doing something considering it's too early for most to drink and the majority of people have already gotten their orders for food. "But, if I may ask: why haven't you joined them? They seem more than welcoming and there's enough space left in the booth for one more."

"Why would I?" Ace gives him a cheeky smile. "All the food and the good company is up here with you!"

Quinn shakes her head, laughter calming. "So, since Ace is busy flirting for food-" He hunches forward and sputters a denial when he overhears her. "-I've been meaning to ask if either of you… well, I'm a terrible fighter. And I sure would like not to be."

Yeah, Quinn wasn't much of a fighter and that was understatement of the year.

Oh, yeah, logically, she knew how to defend herself against any normal brand of person but, unfortunately, this world was fresh out of those. So she was stuck in a bit of a bind.

(Self-defense classes had given her the knowledge on _what_ to do but not the instinct to act. And she couldn't always be acting defensively. It hadn't worked with the Mime and she doubted it would work on those with any modicum of actual strength or training.

Considering, also, that self-defense inherently meant that her assailant would likely be the one making the first move and she doubted she could take the standard of this world's hits… yeah. It was not looking good for her.)

Goddamnit, was she even strong enough to actually hurt anybody without breaking her own hand? She didn't know. Didn't want to test it out all that much either.

But, she'd have to.

If the Grand Line was coming up.

"Get a sword." Is Spice's advice.

"That… I'm open to the idea of it but, for now, I need something more short term." Sword training… that was a commitment of years. And Quinn didn't have that kind of time. "And, I mean, I have a knife?"

"Mnh."

He… doesn't seem impressed.

"If you think about it, a sword is just a big knife!" Kat offers. Unhelpfully. "How do you want to fight?"

_"Good."_

Kat's head tilts.

Spice, the perceptive one he is, hums, finger on his chin in thought as he eyes her up and down. "You _are_ pretty weak." Okay. Thanks. That was nice. "You're just trying to fix that, aren't you?"

"Yep."

"...You should try something else."

"Wow, thanks." Her eye twitches and her response is dry. She's quick to move on. "Anyways- yes, at the moment, I'm not very strong and I'm pretty sure each of you could break me like a twig."

"I think it would be a bit easier than _that_."

Quinn scowls at him and he raises his hands in surrender, brows risen and lips quirked up. Not even faltering when Kat elbows him in the side. She thinks she doesn't help herself with the reactions she gives, Spice takes too much enjoyment in needling her.

"So much for having a serious conversation," Quinn muttered as Ace gained a thoughtful look, "I just figured if I got pointed in the right direction I can work around my own suckiness."

Spice opens his mouth-

Kat facepalms. Quinn dares him with her eyes.

-and closes it with an all too amused smile. Though it was clear the only thing that had stopped him from saying anything was because he thought they were more hilarious the longer he was able to push their buttons.

(Quinn thinks Spice has way, _way_ too much experience as an older brother.)

Ace jumps in before Quinn can snark something back- (what? She thinks she can vibe with Spice. He's got an attitude that's definitely fun if it's engaged with)- a bright expression on his face, almost as if a light bulb had been set off above his head. "We should have spars!" He breathes, looking particularly excited, stars in his eyes. "I did them all the time with Luffy and-" He cuts himself off with an unfaltering ease that Quinn only notices because she has the context of things she shouldn't know. "Our ships big enough for a one-on-one if we're careful and it'll-"

The door to the bar slams open and effectively silences every single person in the building. Mostly because it's loud, startling, and leaves the hinges squealing in protest at the harsh treatment. The sound followed by the clunk of heavy boots shuffling across the ground and the rough click of metal. A sword hanging without a sheath, dangling from the hip of the man that walks in.

It's… a little underwhelming in all honesty.

A pall settles over the bar and they seem to be the only ones unaffected by it all. A quick glance around shows people ducking their heads and pointedly avoiding eye contact, the few women in the room trying to look small and nonexistent and everyone else just trying to look uninteresting.

Quinn wrinkles her nose and unapologetically stares the man down and then-

She hides it but she can't help but snort. Barely a look and already she can see how he reeks of arrogance and other, more literal, smells. Gross. He didn't look like he'd taken a shower in ages, a bottle of alcohol and other swill hanging lazily from between his fingers, and-

She'd seen enough of cocky supervillains and no-named criminal characters on TV to recognize him as fodder.

(Shit. She didn't think people like this _actually_ existed.)

She shuffles away a little as he gets way too close to their table.

It's in disgust, not anything else. Quinn's pretty sure even she could take this guy in a fight. Though, she'd be hard pressed to get anywhere close to him until he'd cleaned up a little. It was just… hard to overstate her disgust.

"I want all the alcohol you have on ya!"

Disgust. So much disgust.

(Look, she's not really one to react like this, but the smell is enough to have anyone revolted. She's pretty sure everyone in the room has pushed their food away or are gagging as they looked away and covered their noses.

It was just that bad.)

He takes a seat next to Ace.

Quinn, Spice, and Kat all wince simultaneously in sympathy. Even despite the fact that he hadn't so much as twitched at the man's presence and was instead starting to slowly grin, hat shadowing his eyes and-

 _"Oh no."_ Quinn sighs under her breath.

She already knows how this is going to go.

Katsura and Spice take one look at her slowly slumping form and the way she pinches the bridge of her nose, glancing at Ace, and sympathetically place their hands on her shoulders. Yeah. This was going the completely expected route. Aa, it was sure to happen eventually.

Because…

Ace is sitting with his back and arms to the counter, one leg crossed over the other, and Quinn almost instantly recognizes the position- it's the same exact way he had sat when facing Smoker down in his manga appearance- the grin on his face, absolutely wicked compared to the sunny one they were all used to.

They would all like to make note of the distinction. Because, what they normally saw was light and cheeky, shining with a childish that spoke of excitement and wonder at the sea and the world around them. This one though-

This one made him look like a _little shit._

Quinn had to hide a snicker. It suits him, just as much as his other smiles, but this was wilder and vibrant in a way that spoke volumes of his ability to get into trouble.

He tilts his head back to narrow his eyes at the man as he shouts impatiently at the bartender. "Hurry it up!" He snarls and, oh, it's a bad move, because Ace had already shown himself to kinda like the man behind the bar. "I don't have all day- I'll have your head for this!" Ooh, definite bad move.

And thus came the whispers from the other patrons.

"That's the infamous bounty hunter-"

"They say he's a rising demon in the East Blue."

"Kills anybody that gets in his way, just lucky that it's been mostly people with bounties so far-!"

Well. That was certainly fun.

Katsura gapes at the sudden dump of information, disbelieving and Spice shares a look with Quinn that has both of them rolling their eyes. Yeah. "Demon"? No way. What was with all these people-? It was just a really gross dude who's apparently also a murderer.

Ace speaks up, silencing the rumors.

"So you're a famous bounty hunter?"

His voice is carefully flat but they know him well enough to tell that he's not impressed. It doesn't help that the guys sword is obviously starting to rust a bit from mistreatment.

The patrons tense, gasping in horror.

Spice needs some popcorn just watching their reactions.

And the apparent bounty hunter simply cackles, causing a sigh of relief to rush through the room. But they don't buy it for a second. "That's right," Quinn cringes and has to physically lean away when he breathes directly into Ace's face, the smell pungent and rank, but Ace has nothing if not a stomach of iron so he says not a word, "I could take on anyone in this sea- be they Marine, Pirate, or some other scum!"

"Is that so?" Ace drawls.

"You got it. Anybody!"

There's a pause caused by the bartender rushing to place down a bottle of sake that the bounty hunter swipes up all too greedily and begins to guzzle down like it was his liquid-life. Quinn doesn't know, maybe it actually is, but that doesn't matter.

Not in the face of Ace steadily lifting his gaze, grin wild and roguish.

"Wanna _bet?"_

…

…

So it really wasn't all that unexpected. Was hardly a problem even because the guy had made some vague threats to the new bartender friend of Ace's and had been intimidating everyone else with his stench- really, Ace had just been looking for an excuse to fight. Get some exercise in. Because, for him, at least, it seemed to be a relaxing afternoon excursion for him. One he was all too ready to indulge in.

Fine. Whatever.

Quinn didn't care so long as he picked his fights with people that wouldn't come back to bite them in the ass.

(She thinks he'll be fine until they make it to the Grand Line but, already, she could see the habit beginning to form and the stressful days ahead.)

He had the skills to back up his confidence.

(Quinn just hoped he wouldn't get complacent with his fruits intangibility but she could already see him purposely taking swords to the gut that he could've easily dodged. It was always- Ugh, she knew he wouldn't get hurt, as did he, but instinctively… It always made her stomach drop.)

And it was the East Blue so it was probably fine and good that they got up to some squabbles. She needed the practical experience after all!

...Only, it _would_ be fine, if Ace didn't make it a glorious opportunity to start running field-tests on his Devil Fruit powers.

Good News? He's got the Fire Fist he's famous for pretty much down.

Bad News?

(Ace… _please_ , no.)

...He burned down his new bartender's friend's place of business.

Let's just say, the new friend isn't all that friendly anymore.

(They had to run from a mob when the fire spread to other buildings.)

Does Ace learn any lesson from that? Well, no. But it does give him some new and improved ideas that he's all too excited for.

"Quinn! Do you think I could figure out how to put the flames out once they're-" She's already nodding because she's pretty sure that, so long as he thinks his devil fruit is limitless, it's going to get him further than it would otherwise. And, to be fair, all devil fruits kinda _were._ "-outside my body? Great! I'm gonna try that!"

She's happy that he goes to her to bounce ideas off of even though she can't really offer much to him- other than handing him a pack of matches and the soft suggestion to "start off small"- especially because it gives her some warning whenever he tries something new.

But it's the second time that it happens that Quinn starts to notice a pattern.

It's a bar again, of course. Though tavern is probably the more accurate word for the majority of the places they visit.

And it's just Quinn and Ace this time.

Spice and Katsura had decided to check out some shops with strange cross-sea fish and Quinn didn't need more of the smell of seafood on her so she'd followed Ace's trail across town and into the lively building that had, honestly, pretty good coffee.

It was a horrible decision on Quinn's part, really. But she'd just been craving a proper drink for once and they didn't have a coffee maker on the ship and Spice hadn't prepped ingredients to make their own when they left Hunting and, while it was on the next grocery list, they still had quite a bit of food to get through before they did any proper shopping and-

Quinn was very stressed, okay? She was very tired and just wanted to ease herself back into her, admittedly, very unhealthy addiction.

Well, Quinn had gotten her coffee alright.

But she had also nearly hurt her broken arm _further_ when she had to lunge to catch a narcoleptic Ace before he could pass out into his own food. "Oh, shit, shit, shit…" She hissed, carefully laying him down so he could breathe, trying to ignore the stutter of her own heart at seeing him drop. There's something cramping beneath her cast and an ache that tells her the sudden motion was definitely unappreciated, coupled with an intense burning sensation that feels like her skin wants to split in half, it ends up taking her a few minutes to ride out the pain and, by the end of it, her lip is nearly bleeding from her biting down on it. "Damn it, that hurts…!"

A careful look shows that none of her stitches have ripped and it doesn't feel like anything is out of sorts so all she can really do is clasp her bad arm to her chest and shakily go back to sipping at her coffee.

Which had, disappointedly, been given to her in a fragile tea cup that barely gave her more than a few sips of espresso.

"Hey!"

Right. _Right._

This guy.

It's a different one now, but it is another bounty hunter. Considering that no one actually realizes they're worth anything, it's surprising how many they keep running into. His name is some dumb thing that she already couldn't remember and he was way better smelling and well-dressed than the last one. Even if he did curse much more and seemed a bit more competent than the last.

He had all the same rumors that had followed the previous guy too. And Quinn wonders if there's a theme here. Because, huh, didn't Zoro have the same kind of rumors following him around?

_What-ever._

She continues taking the slow, calming sip of her coffee, letting it scald her tongue and distract her from the even worse pain in her arm while she listens to the rhythm of Ace's breathing. Ah, yes. Nice. Absolutely wonderful.

"That friend of yours making fun of me?!"

"Oh no, he's just an idiot."

Quinn's just really annoyed right now. And he can't hear her be mean, so she'll say whatever she wants.

Ugh. She's getting a headache.

"Tch. Damn right he is," _Hey now._ She was the only one allowed to say it. "I'm going to cut his head off!" A sword is pointed at her nose and he's already partway to drunk if the way he's chugging his bottle is anything to go by. "And his bitch is next!" Oh, uncouth. Quinn has a few problems with that sentence.

She's already halfway through her coffee but finds herself stopping, even though the liquid is so heavenly, tantalizingly close.

_Lovely._

She watches him over the rim of her cup. Trying to hold back her disgust at watching him- he really wasn't as bad as the first guy, but still, it was like he was going out of his way to be gross. He was gargling his drink, letting the liquid fall from the corners of his mouth and gush over his front. Spilling all the way down and onto the floor. Quinn's brow twitches at the sight and she can't help but rasp, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

_"Hah?!"_

"You're drinking from a bottle, not trying to land a rocket!"

"You-"

"You are an absolute _pig_. Look at the floor!" She gestured. "You're leaving puddles everywhere. Freak. What're you trying to do-? Catch the liquid five feet from your face?! Clean yourself the hell up!"

Wow. She was way angrier than she thought she was. She hadn't meant to say all of that.

Ace mumbles in his narcolepsy-induced sleep.

It's Quinn's turn to garner all the wide eyes in the room. The bounty hunter's face turns such a deep shade of red that it starts to curb its way into purple.

"You… are some Noble wench, aren't cha?!"

"Why does everyone think that… I thought it was a joke at first but _now._ Seriously. Is it too much to ask that people conduct themselves with at least a _tiny bit_ of dignity?"

It's almost funny how angry he gets at her complete disregard. And he grasps for his sword, hand going to his hip as he lunges forwards, "I'll kill ya!" The sword aimed to slice her neck and-

Quinn pours her scalding hot coffee in his face.

The resulting scream has the whole bar jumping back in fear. Oh, even worse, a good chunk of the women are covering their faces and screaming, possibly even worse than he was. Which was saying something because _he_ was _bloodcurdling,_ face red with burns, and clutching at it.

Quinn lets out a low whistle.

Not the reaction she was expected. Well, from him, yes, kind of. Everyone else though? No way. They were acting like she was worse than he was and all she had was less of a drink for it all. It was a few folds into way too over dramatic and, if her hands had been free, Quinn would be rubbing her temples to rid herself of the worsening headache.

Ace mumbles and then lets out a snore. She shoots him a glare over her shoulder, lips pulling down. He'd gotten her into this situation, " _you_ should be the one ending it." She's really not all that upset at him, not really- she knows he has no control over it and would probably be bothered himself to know that he hadn't been able to commit- but she was too irritated to actually filter her glare any.

Turning back to fix it on the screaming bounty hunter on the floor. Who, by now, is stumbling back onto his feet, welts and blisters already beginning to form across the peeling flesh. He lets out an angry scream, trying to pick his sword back up.

"Are you done?" Quinn asks thinly.

"I- I'll kill you, b-bitch!"

Far faster than she expected of him, he lunges forward again and Quinn nearly falls over backwards taking a step back, finding him suddenly much too close to her face. Reflexively hand whipping to slap him across the face and-

Oops. That was the coffee hand, wasn't it?

"Motherfu-"

She hisses down at her palm and the sight of shards wedged in her fingers. The cup had completely shattered on impact, both in his face and in her hand.

It sends him back to the ground, bleeding profusely.

Quinn can't help but feel a little numb to it all. (The fact that she does makes her feel disgusted with herself and it churns her stomach distastefully.) Glaring at the blood dripping from the piercing wounds, far more than it had any right to bleed, and growing even more annoyed as it smears across the floor when she accidentally steps in it.

There's a snore from behind her. It cuts off into a snort and her brow twitches as Ace snaps awake, _"I'll kick your ass-_! Oh, hey, you're bleeding, Quinn?"

The shout immediately falls into concern.

Honestly.

She shakes her head, ignoring the fact that it's done with no small amount of fondness. "Yeah, but it's fine. I took care of the guy 'cause you fell asleep."

He has the audacity to blow a raspberry at her. "Quinn- hey! I wanted to fight him..."

"Sorry, not sorry."

She winces.

"Ow."

And is unsurprised to find Ace leaning over her, suddenly by her side.

Ace carefully takes her bloody hand by the wrist, raising it up so he can give it a critical once over. She cringes as his thumbs brush over a piece and make her twitch away. "Wow, you really got these stuck in there. Want me to pull them out?" He asks that but his fingers are already trying to grab a piece and yank it.

"...If I said no, would you not?"

"Of course. But it's not going to help if you keep them in," he leans a little closer, a boyishly starry eyed look gleaming across his face, "and it'll be _super gross_ watching them get pulled out."

He's way too fascinated by this.

Quinn slumps. "Well, so long as you're careful." She yelps as his finger digs in deep and he shoots her a sheepish smile. "If I could use my other arm right now, I would hit you."

He sticks his tongue out. "Blegh, you couldn't touch me anyways!"

There's a shout and they both turn.

"Crazy wench-!" The bounty hunter howls. "You two- monsters, what's wrong with you-?!"

"Oh, _so_ many things." Quinn sighs at the same time Ace grins, flames flicking up from his shoulders and head and says, "You've still got some fight in you, huh?!"

Ace uses his Devil Fruit again.

There's one less bar on one more island.

They have to run around for close to two hours, chased by the islanders, before they find Spice and Kat at some random food stall selling takoyaki and _then-_ then they're running back to the ship with armfulls of steaming takoyaki on way too many plates and, finally, once they make it back to the ship, Quinn is left wheezing her lungs out as Ace chows down on their stolen food, newspaper spread across their coffee table, so he can pluck the shards from her hand. Careful to not get blood on anything as the boat pulls out to sea and Kat is searching through the bathroom drawers for tweezers to pick out the smaller pieces.

"Ohh, this one's bleeding a whole lot!"

"Why… erk, are you so fascinated by this?"

…

…

The third island- it really needn't even be mentioned.

Quinn doesn't want to talk about it.

Ace can't actually. Which, not entirely his fault, but still. All he really remembers is that they landed on a sunny day and some asshole at the dock that was cursing them out had been trying to charge them a fee for landing- to which Ace had beat him up for and was very polite about, he notes proudly- and then there had been a group of assholes and he remembered challenging them (Quinn facepalming, Spice with his sword out, and Kat looking confused by the sudden violence) and then-

_Blank._

Not, admittedly, a new thing. Or unusual.

He flinches awake, eyes snapping open, and lets out a decidedly unattractive snort, before he's blinking against the glare of a spotlight from a snail and- "Must've fallen asleep."

"One of a kind, Ace, one of a kind."

The cage had definitely not been there before.

And he doesn't remember there being a party. A costume party too, from the looks of it. He squints through the cage bars, surprised by the sounds of fighting and yelling and a shocking amount of carnage outside.

_"Huh?"_

He looks down.

The ropes were new too.

"Ace, psst, hey," he lazily turns to the voice of Quinn and lets out a horrified yell- _it wasn't a shriek, he does_ not _shriek, damn it!-_ at the sight of her, "stop screaming, it's just me- do you remember what I showed you about picking locks?"

Well, it was Quinn alright. Grey and ashen with muscle showing and blood dripping all over her, looking like the living embodiment of the walking dead- there was even bone sticking out of her neck and everything!- an incredibly realistic-looking zombie.

A zombie that was currently as tied up as him.

"Even if I got free of the ropes, I still don't have full use of my fingers with the cast and bandages in the way."

"Yeah?" He concentrates to burn the ropes around him, then yelps as he overdoes it and has to stomp it out to keep it from spreading. He doesn't think he could get through Quinn's without burning her, even if he was just untying it, even attempting the knot has him fumbling with a burst of fire that has him hesitant. He drops his hands when he sees her flinch. "I think so? Why are you dressed like that?"

"Don't worry about it."

He blinks as there's a click and Quinn visibly runs her tongue over her teeth and into her cheek- his brows shoot up as he watches, more and more confused by the second- and then stuck out her tongue.

"I- How long did you have those in there?!"

He exclaims, staring at the bobby pins that she clutches between her teeth and lips. There's a pause, like she's contemplating actually answering, before she shakes her head and, in a muffled voice, says again, "...Don't worry about it."

"Why didn't you just keep it in your hair?" He asks. Even as he takes it from her and starts bending it in the way she had taught him, nodding her approval when he showed her the end result. "Wouldn't that be easier?"

He has to admit. He shivers a little taking it from her mouth- that makeup and outfit… It's just way too good and he half expects her teeth to snap out after him.

"I have them there too but these were backups incase they searched me," she glances at the shouting crowd around them and Ace briefly catches sight of Spice suplexing someone through a window and Kat jumping on someone's shoulders, creating nothing but chaos, "and I'd rather not have you dig through my hair for the others."

He stares at the room as he fumbles with the lock.

"...Uh, Quinn?"

"Please. _Don't."_

"What's up with all of this?"

"Aa, you did."

"They're a cult, Captain!" Kat shouts from… somewhere. He's somewhere. "They were gonna try and baptize the Devil Fruit out of you-"

"Well, that's not too bad."

Spice snorts, dropping down from a secondary floor with two guys under each arm, a skeleton shirt beneath his clothes. "If you think drowning isn't too bad. Take it literally."

"Oh." The lock clicks and Quinn shuffles after him, offering her ropes up for Spice to drive his blade through. "That still doesn't explain costumes. Or Quinn."

"Sure doesn't."

And Quinn refuses to say a word more on the subject.

Thankfully, Spice leans down to Ace's ear, "I'll fill in the logbook later." He pauses before adding: "Kat is dressed as a warlock."

_"I curse you!"_

"He's really into it."

Quinn's cheeks puff. "Say nothing, Spice! Sworn to secrecy!"

"No."

Ace cackles.

...He burns down half the island. The first thing to go up though is, of course, the bar they're stuck in.

How they don't already have their pictures in the paper is a wonder in and of itself.

("What do you mean the ash keeps getting in the snails eyes and making the picture blurry?!")

…

…

She slammed her foot onto the deck, just because she couldn't use her hands without hurting herself. "How many times?! How many times are we going to get chased off an island?!"

Ace laughs.

"Shut up, this is all your fault!"

He just continues to laugh, "Oh, come on, it hasn't happened all that much-?"

"Every island! Every island! The only one was Hunting and that's more the exception than the norm-!"

"What about Starving-?"

"Kat and I got chased out by that damn Mime trying to kill us!"

"Aa, oh right, you mentioned that didn't you? Chehahaha! Whatever happened to him?" Quinn chose purposely yo stay silent. "Are you sure your Devil Fruit didn't give you bad luck?"

"Hell if I know." She gripes, head falling into her semi-good hand. "...Why can't we… just go somewhere… where the locals don't hate us…?"

-0-

It's a day of gentle winds and still seas. Any experienced pirate of the Grand Line- and especially of the New World- would know that it's simply the calm before the storm. But, ah, the veterans of the sea would know to savor it as well, and not let paranoia get to them.

The News Coo salutes with a squawk and is off a second later to whatever other ship it finds on its route.

A huff over the raised price and the retrieved newspaper snaps open with a flick of the wrist. The frontpage is partly some slaughter spree that one of Big Mom's crew had gone on when they were given the wrong order and the other half is another update on the situation in East Blue. Which, unsurprisingly, was a paid spot by a Celestial Dragon, pissed at the destruction of something they'd claimed.

"Someone keeps burning islands in the East Blue." He can't help his brow raising and letting out a low whistle at the numbers and islands written about, even though it was undoubtedly exaggerated, it was still looking like a pretty big number. "Seems like it's those pirates that went all revolutionary a couple weeks back. Can't get a read on the MO though."

"Did they announce the bounty yet?"

He looks for any numbers that stand out, scratching his head. Careful not to mess up his carefully styled hair. "...Looks like… A grand total of Thirty-Six Mill. For the prime three and anyone additional. They estimate that there's about fifteen pirates in all."

"Pretty damn good for the East Blue. Twelve million each. That's getting close to the highest bounty there."

Spikey, cobalt blue hair tilts to look down from the crows nest where they're standing by the railing, face paint scrunching in vague humor. " _Is_ it?" There's a laugh. "That's kinda pathetic, don't you think? Hey, Teach, you're good at remembering this kind of thing. Who's got the highest bounty in East Blue, right now?"

"That would be Arlong, zehaha. At twenty." The large man crunches from around a bite of cherry pie that he had managed to convince the kitchens to make for him. "They get a picture there, Commander Thatch?"

Thatch shakes his head. "Not even a blurry one, apparently they've been avoiding the Marine cameko's."

"Smart, if cowardly."

"Zehaha. They know when to pick their battles then, don't they? Suicidal for someone from the East to try to pull the revolutionary card if they don't have the power to back it up."

"...They should just straight-up punch a Dragon in the face."

Thatch snorts. "Not everyone's got a death wish like you. And don't you have paperwork from the second division you should be doing right now!"

There's a moan. "Urghhh." And the blue haired man pathetically tried to hide behind the wall of the crows nest. "When I promised Oden to watch over his division for him until someone worthy took over I didn't think there'd be so much writing!"

There's a pause.

"Oy, Thatch! Oden was terrible at math! Why the hell is there so much of it for _me?_!"

"I don't know, ask Marco. The flaming blue chicken-mother."

"He wasn't supposed to hear me say it!"

"And that makes it okay, yoi-?"

Thatch goes back to reading the paper, ignoring the yelp and thud as he falls out of the crows nest and makes contact with the deck. Sending Teach into a loud fit of laughter that had him choking on his food a bit. "These new pirates though… wonder if the burning islands is something they do everywhere or is there something the Marines and the paper aren't saying."

-0-

He was a simple shop keep. Clothing and second-hand brands and donated hand-me-downs that no one wanted anymore, it wasn't a bad business. Maybe not the most respectable, but it was his.

Now. As a shop keep to a business that was open everyday- a person could need new clothes at any time after all- he prided himself on knowing each and every one of the residents on the island. It made it much easier to pick out new, prospective customers and helped him keep the good graces of everyone else.

So, when he spotted the one with freckles and a bright orange hat, he very much stood out to him.

(Now, he'll admit, that, at first, his heart had leapt into his chest because, for a moment there, he thought it was that new pirate-criminal everyone had been talking about. The one who had been setting fire to islands nearby them.

This thought was quickly discarded though as the man- though, if he was being honest with himself, he was really more of a boy- turned around.

He was much too young to be responsible for that kind of terror. Much too young to match the description of an older man with flamethrowers as well. And, while there were fancily embroidered flames on his hat, it didn't match with the demonic imagery he had in his head. So, really, it was just a teen with an unfortunate taste in fashion.

...And also in spelling apparently. If that tattoo on his arm was anything to go by.)

The young man didn't even look quite old enough to be a traveler all out on his own yet. But, then, he supposed, he could be mistaken. He was getting on in years and, at some point, all the young faces started to look the same. Especially with strangers.

Though, if he had his own guess, from the way the kid was looking around, he'd be willing to bet he was looking for someone. Probably his friends ran off without him or something.

After that, he goes back to work and he doesn't spot too much of him, but he doesn't think he leaves the market area.

And when, in boredom, he goes to try and spot the stranger again, he finds that the kid has one of the pretty girls that work down by the fisher's boats flirting with him. And, apparently, the boy was much too dense to even really notice the, frankly, terrible advances the girl was attempting.

(An older lady, the late farmer's widow from across the town, takes one look at the poor tries and nearly laughs herself silly. "Ouh, reminds me of when I was a young lass." All too delighted as she went out of her way to eavesdrop and likely gather some embarrassing blackmail on the poor girl for her later years.)

It doesn't help that the dense boy perks up at the offer of food and the girl seems to mistake it as interest in a date itself- already dragging the boy off on a supposed outing at one of the small outdoor food courts that were popular among the dock workers.

It causes quite the commotion. His eating.

Enough so that the workers on afternoon break start up a round of betting that has the fishers girl turning redder and redder in raw embarrassment and humiliation. Standing up and knocking over her chair as she throws up her hands and says something about how "all the good looking guys had something wrong with them."

The boy didn't even seem to have heard her, too caught up in his already paid for meal.

And then-

Well. He honestly wasn't quite sure what happened, though he was smart enough to be able to make a good guess. The poor girl had been stomping away and was now being harassed by a group of no-good troublemakers that'd overheard her complaint and thought they might be able to show her what a "real man" looks like. Idiots, the lot of them. It was a real squabble that was undoubtedly going to get out of hand. Especially as the cowboy stands up and punches one of them in the face when he takes it too far. It was a very impressive punch, actually, sends the idiot sprawled out on the ground and serves as a catalyst to piss off the rest of them.

(Notably, he doesn't stop eating even as he does it, looking more annoyed by the interruption than anything.)

"Oh _no._ Not again." The shop keep nearly jumps out of his skin as someone breathes out from his side, sounding more exasperated than actually irritated. "How many times does that make it now?"

It's a- In his opinion, a rather striking woman. All dark, mysterious, and wild, wispy hair. A quick glance and he can tell immediately that she's not from around here- and not just from the island- her eyes are shaped differently, her body… _softer l_ ooking than the, compared to her, angular feminine types he's used to seeing, and the only suitable descriptor he could apply to the differences were: exotic and outlandish. Yet, even as he tries his hardest to guess a sea she might've been from, possibly West Blue but even that doesn't seem right, he doesn't think he could just assume anywhere off the top of his head.

At least, not without a high chance of being wildly wrong.

She's got her arms loaded down with a couple of shopping bags and she's counting money in her wallet and-

She turns to him and he's stuck by how sharp her eyes are. They almost feel like they're actually cutting into him.

"Hey, how much for that shirt? The one with the UFO."

He startles.

"O-Oh, that's 2000 beli! It's still in pretty good condition so not much was knocked off the price. I- Are you not concerned for your friend?"

She waves a hand in the air. "He's fine. So long as there's no fire at least." She frowns as she picks the shirt up and looks it over. It's made up of a sunset-gradient, red to orange to purple, with a white UFO shape in the center with a large bold print of GREETINGS underneath. There were white dots of stars in the purple. "Got anymore like this? He needs more clothes… Uh. I'm not sure what size he is actually."

"The cowboy-?"

"No, sorry, my…" She struggles for a second before shrugging. "Brother? He's really into the extraterrestrial." She pauses and then mutters under her breath something that he's pretty sure is: "Which is ironic considering _me_." But he can't be one-hundred percent on that because she quickly continues. "He's shorter than me. Bout here. And about… the size of that boy over there.

She points to one of the boys currently stuck in a chokehold under her friend's arm, starting to turn blue from a lack of air.

The… shop keep does not know what to make of this situation so he simply offers a slow, "...I think that's a medium." And starts looking for other alien shirts while keeping an eye on the fighting.

"Oh, by the way," she stops as she finishes paying about to wander off, "do you have or know where I could get binders?"

"Huh. If you're looking for that kind of thing, you'll probably only find it in Logue Town. Anywhere else wouldn't be commercial enough to really carry it." He scratches his head, looking around. "I don't think I got any- most people try an' keep that stuff a secret. So you'll probably have to look around a bit if you're gonna even find anything in-store."

She scowls. Not quite a glare on her face as she looks down, not yet, and is clearly thinking on it- but even if it's not pointed at him it still has a shiver rushing up his spine and a chill in his bones.

This lady- Yikes. There was definitely something creepy going on with her.

"Right. Thanks."

He sighs in relief as she turns to walk to her friend, a new shopping bag adding to the weight on her arms. And he's glad, now, to see her leave. The friend had completely laid the group he'd been fighting with out flat and he didn't want to see him sent in his direction. Still eating too. "Hey, Ace!" The name is a simple one. And it makes him wince in sympathy when he spots the misspelling of the tattoo on his arm. The boy's head shoots up in greeting, hand waving and voice muffled but the woman just completely talks over him. "Let me see your hands."

He seems confused, just as much as most of the people who had been watching the fight were at the woman's sudden appearance and request, but sticks his food the rest of the way in his mouth and offers up his hands. Even as the fishers girl- who had done a complete one-eighty and was now fawning over him- glared at her.

There's a bemused expression on Asce's- sorry, _Ace's_ \- face as she reaches out and clasps both hands. "Mnh, they're warm…" She mutters. He seems more taken aback than anything. "Bring them down…" He does so, hands following her own. At the same time, she lets the bags slide down the length of her arms and onto his, "Now bring them back up…!" And with a quick flourish they slide down his own arms and she lets go, a triumphant smile on her face. "There we go!"

He splutters. "Oy, that- I don't want to carry your bags-!"

It's a stark contrast to the fighting and looks he'd received and it has the workers laughing, a few even going so far as to try and copy the move. The shopkeeper simply shook his head.

Odd strangers.

...

...

Fighting.

_Fighting._

It was not something that she'd ever really thought about.

Quinn had mentioned it before. Parkour and self-defense. _Those_ were the two things she had going for her. Even if the parkour she hadn't done in awhile and was shaky at best and the self-defense needed desperately to be relearned.

The latter… she'd rather wait. At least until her arm healed because even just jostling it wrong was enough to have her shoulders tense and her eyes squinting to hide the pain. She was beyond thankful that the shards that had bloodied her free hand, the cuts and piercings she'd gotten from it, were already almost healed- mostly just thick scabs and red lines now. It would scar, probably, barely enough to even be all that noticeable, but what was one more.

Quinn-

She wanted to go for a run.

She could feel it in the way her leg shook in anticipation and she fiddled with her hands.

More than that though, she wanted to climb. And jump. And to do awkward rolls and dangerous races and-

But Ace had other plans.

He eyed her up and down and crossed his arms over his chest, humming. "Being honest with you…"

"Yeah?"

"You wouldn't last a day on Mt. Colubo!"

She sighed. Yeah, she could tell him that much.

He can't help but laugh a bit at her reaction. "C'mon, show me what you got! Maybe you'll prove me wrong."

She makes a face. "Oh, I seriously doubt that, Ace…"

This was not it. Not even close to what she wanted to be doing right now but, well, she'd dug her own grave here, hadn't she? And Ace was all too enthusiastic to grab a shovel.

She gets her ass kicked.

Hard.

"Are you even trying?"

He sounds disappointed. Which, yeah- fair.

Whatever.

She lays sprawled on her back, blood dripping from her lips from where she'd bitten her tongue and Ace is crouched lazily next to her, peering down. The asshole isn't even breathless.

She groans.

"...Hm. _Thinking."_

His brow raises, "Yeah? That's not really going to help you, you know? If you spend the whole time thinking about what to do instead of actually doing it." She doesn't deign that with a response and he shakes his head. "What about?"

She sits up, grunting. And rubs her forehead with her good hand, feeling Ace watch her every move. He hits hard. Really hard. And the first one she'd gotten, straight to the stomach, had sent her vomiting over the side of the ship, which was enough for him to grimace guiltily and reel in his strength.

("Forgot that everyone else isn't made of rubber…")

She huffs out something like a sigh and turns to give him a critical eye. It has him startled momentarily before he returns the stare down, neither blinking.

Quinn's not sure when it starts. Not exactly, it's hard to pinpoint an exact moment, because it isn't exact or even linear. But one day, when the boat is lifted by the crashing waves, so forcefully that it sends them all crashing out of their seats and rushing to get the ship under control, she notices the laughter and grins breaking open over everyone's faces. Even her own, despite the scraped knees and slivers in her palms.

That the shaking of the boat beneath her feet, the instability that has her nearly tumbling with each step. That, even when she accidentally falls into the water and gets fished out by the back of her shirt, she's _laughing,_ too.

"Oh, I can't _wait_ for us to get to the Grand Line and deal with it's weather."

It reads like her usual brand of sarcasm, to their ears.

But she's telling the truth. For once, she can't wait to find the road ahead.

And, now, staring him down and watching him grow more confused by the second, even as he attempts to maintain a serious expression, and manages so with surprising success, after he's just beat her up in the most one-sided fight he'd probably ever been in before-

Quinn feels it more than the thought even occurs:

_She can't let him die._

She feels her lips quirk into a soft smile, unbidden- and Ace blinks rapidly in response, caught by surprise- before she's grabbing the brim of his hat and jerking it over his eyes, completely cutting off his line of sight. "You're some kind of monster." He freezes, tense and she can see his fists clench and-

She knows she's not good with words, this is proof of it, but…

Ace twitches back as she pulls the brim back up, both hands on his cheeks as she rolls her eyes and forces eye contact once again, smile positively beaming. "But definitely the best one I've ever met."

And hopes beyond hope that it's enough.

She pats his cheek, stands back up, using his shoulder to pull herself up and stretches out her aching bones. Pointedly not looking at Ace.

Otherwise, she would've seen the almost shell shocked expression on his face, almost like _she'd_ been the one to punch him in the gut, and there's a wobbliness to him that wasn't there before. Like he was going to fall over, even though his feet were firmly planted and his balance was impeccable. Or seen the way his face shifted through a myriad of emotions before he was wiping his hand over his mouth to hide what might've been a grin as his eyes followed along the definition of her legs, all the way from her foot and up past, until he's eyeing the curve of her stretching her arms above and behind her head.

The brim of his hat keeps the sun from blinding him as he watches her face.

 _"That's_ what's on your mind?"

"More or less."

"And that has to do with fighting because…?"

"Oh, not really." He swipes at her legs and sends her yelping, back to the ground. "Kehehe! Sorry, sorry, Mr. Portgas. Your training is distracting I guess," she hums, laying on the ground and resolute to not move now, "I want to run!"

The declaration is met with a chortle.

"Well, with how trainin' is going for you that's all you're going to be doing."

"I don't really learn by getting my ass-kicked, you know?"

He snorts.

"How else is there?"

"...Know how I taught you to pick locks?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we try that method?"

Ace pauses, thinks it over then grabs her by the shoulders and forcibly stands her back up. "Sure." And, hey! Once they start heading down that route, Quinn starts picking up the moves and doesn't have to suffer through being beaten up. She's pleasantly surprised that, while Ace is definitely an impatient teacher and demanded a lot, he was _good_ at it.

Must be all the years having to dumb things down for Luffy.

("Hey, better already!"

"Y-Yay…" She groans, holding her face where Ace had nearly knocked her the hell out. "Everything… hurts…"

"I could still absolutely destroy you, but you're learning something at least."

"Yeah, I _know._ " How to take a punch maybe.)

…

…

The islands, quite honestly, start to blend together. It's a marked difference from what she remembered because the Straw Hat's had seemingly been out at sea for the vast majority of the time. It makes her wonder how many of the small cover stories that Oda drew, the ones where it was just them hanging out and being harassed by odd little animals or just being silly, were actually true to the canon of this world. It would fill in a lot of blanks at least.

This island was a small one. Primarily farms and separated lands with dirt roads connecting them, a little town down by the dock where Kat and Spice currently were-

Quinn had meant it when she said she had wanted to go for a run.

This wasn't exactly what she wanted- preferring concrete and ledges to jump and climb- but a walk like this was fine.

"This is the first time I've seen a baby cow in-person in my life…" She mutters, balancing on the small stone wall built next to the side of the road, careful not to step on the barbed wire fencing beneath. "So cute."

Ace snorted but nodded in agreement. "Want to meet them?"

"Oh, no way in hell." She makes a face. "If I grow attached to _one_ , I won't be able to eat _any_ of them anymore."

Ace _cackles._

"Chehaha! That's one way of looking at it!"

They go back to walking in a comfortable silence again.

There really isn't much to see or do. And Ace doesn't have Luffy's power to rocket them anywhere or the same ability to get into wack-a-doodle, crazy hijinks, so overall it's been a pretty calm couple of weeks. Definitely not boring, Ace would go stir crazy she was sure, but…

It was nice.

And it was nice that they could just be calm like this.

"Your…" Ace stops walking for a second, hesitating before bulldozing on. " _...wrist._ Does it hurt?"

She blinks.

Once. Twice.

Huh, somehow that's not what she expected. Not at all. She looks down at the cast. It's seen better days, especially since she'd been tossed into water a couple times, and is beginning to lose its shape but she only needs another couple weeks before she can take it off. Hopefully it'll last until then. "Sometimes. It's not that bad anymore. It hasn't been that long yet though." She catches the edge of her lip, lets it go with a pop before she can begin chewing. "Medicine gets rid of most of the pain but, so long as I'm careful, it's fine."

"I've only broken a bone once before."

He didn't really remember the experience all that clearly. He'd been young, younger than when Luffy had been when they first met. And Dadan had said something about him getting an infection from it and almost dying until Garp brought a real doctor to check him out.

It was a blur, mostly.

But Ace remembered being scared.

"Oh yeah?" Quinn perked up. "How'd that happen?"

He looks away. "A-Aa, will you look at that-?"

She grins. "Ace, how'd you break it?"

"I think I'm getting hungry, how about-"

Quinn grabs him by the shoulders and wheels him back around, hopping off the wall. "C'mon, Ace! Tell me! How'd it happen-" He tries to do everything he can to look away. "It can't be that bad!"

"...Fine. I-" he mumbles. "Fell out of a tree."

Her brows furrow. "Oh, well, that's not so embarrassing." She sounds disappointed.

" _Oy,_ what were you expecting?"

"I don't know. Something funny with you, kehe. What- did your brother accidentally push you?"

"It was before I met either of them."

Ace is a little surprised when she simply nods and doesn't ask about the pluralization or the fact that he'd said met- he thinks pretty untypical of most. And something in him relaxes at the lack of questions.

"That must've been fun. Did that bandit-mother of yours help?"

"Yeah. Surprisingly a lot actually. I don't know if it was because she was afraid of Garp or what but-" Ace's thoughts short circuited. He sputtered. "Mo… Mother?!"

Quinn gave him a confused look. "Isn't she… like your adoptive mother?"

"Whe-Where did you get that idea?! She's- She's a man among men! She's not my-" He opens and closes his mouth. "She's big and burly and is ginger and always wears a beaded red necklace- there's no way that she's my- _ah_."

Ace stops short as Quinn suddenly hums, small smile deceptively soft on her face as she leans forward, fingers sliding under his necklace so she could inspect it closer. One brow delicately raised, "...always wears a beaded red necklace, huh?"

He glances down at it.

"...aa."

It- It'd been a gift.

From Dadan, though she hadn't actually planned on giving it to him. Dogra and Mogra had been the ones to gift it, before he'd left, and Ace had pretended to not notice her sobbing when she saw it- or the warm feeling it'd given him. She… She wasn't his mother. Not really adoptive either. But she was his… parent?

He stares Quinn in the eye and swallows.

"...They're prayer beads…" He admits, voice desperately small and Quinn's eyes flicker in interest. "We're- I'm not religious or anything but- Dadan always liked the symbolism."

"They have a name?"

"Mala."

"And the symbolism?"

If possible, his voice grows even smaller and quieter, shoulders coming up to hug his neck. But he doesn't pull away. "Red ones mean… Power and stuff like that."

Thankfully, Quinn let the beads fall back into place and he sighs in relief, the nervous pit in his stomach releasing and the embarrassed flush that he _knew_ was starting to rise dissipating. "' _A man among men?_ '" Her lips quirk up. "What does that even mean?"

"Uh…" He let his head reboot, albeit slowly. "It means just that! A man among men-" He doesn't know how to explain it and Quinn laughs at his attempt. "She's like- the respected boss of bandits or whatever- A man among men!"

She chortles. "So it's a compliment then?"

"No- I mean, yes?" He tried to go over it in his head, not really seeing what she was getting at. "...You see that as a compliment?"

"It sounds like your saying that she stands out as an equal to be respected, or goes above and beyond compared to all those other bandits. How can that _not_ be a compliment?"

Ace stares at her, then snorts. "Well, she certainly doesn't see it that way."

"How'd you say it?" Quinn shakes her head. He has a feeling that that ones rhetorical. "Anyways, what'd'you end up breaking?"

"I- My arm? Like, right here?" He gestures to his left forearm. "I guess I fell on it wrong, or something."

"Ooh, matching." She raises her left arm up.

Ace rolls his eyes. "Seriously?"

"Seriously, seriously." She taps the cast, in a tune that Ace vaguely recognizes as being something some of the bandits hummed at points during the year, claiming it to be because of holidays. "It's fine, by the way. I knew what I was getting into. So don't worry about it."

He looks away. "I wasn't worried."

" _Sure_ you weren't."

"Oy, I'm not lying. Oy, hey, Quinn- I'm serious! Stop looking at me like that- I wasn't worried!"

...

...

"Aaaaaa-! Oh, hi."

"Hello."

"Aaaa-!"

Spice watched as Ace went yelling away, running from the spatulas and pans chucked after him. More for effect than anything, he's guessing. "Does this happen often?" He asked at the same time he crouches to collect the kitchenware that was now piling up on the ground. The chefs here, if you could even call them that, clearly had no respect for themselves if this is how they treated their tools of the trade…

"We haven't been to enough islands with people to tell just yet." Quinn follows where Ace took off. "But, if I think it's going to be a recurring theme… yes, definitely."

"Should we… pay them?" Kat shifts uncomfortably, scratching the back of his head. "I- I mean. It would be kinda rude not to, wouldn't it?"

"Good thing I don't care."

"Quinn."

"What? It's my damn money." She pauses. " _Our_ … It's _our_ damn money."

"Who put you in charge of finances again?" Spice muses.

"I'm good at math."

"Your only qualification."

She shrugs. "Would you rather do it?" Spice doesn't say anything. "I… like having something to keep track of. I also keep track of all our supplies and what we're gonna need but, hey, if you want to take the responsibility-"

"I'm good. You're on top of the boring things, got it."

"It's not really all _that_ boring."

Obvious disbelief.

"...I don't know if I can be on a crew with such a big nerd. How do you manage it Kat?"

He opens his mouth to respond-

"Hey, don't talk to him like he isn't also a humongous nerd."

-he closes his mouth.

"And Ace is a bit of a nerd too. Just gotta find the right thing." She tilts her head, following after the sight of him running in circles with her eyes. "He's more of a massive _dork_ though."

Spice sighs. "How could I pick such a lame crew?"

"Excuse you. What makes you think we _let_ you pick- you were ours from the get go. We could feel the perfect balance of energy in our nerd-to-dork ratio."

Kat snorted. He actually has no idea what they're talking back. Suddenly struck by the thought of- _wow_ , Quinn is weird. Before shaking his head, trying to get back on track. "I don't know. It's one thing for one of _us_ to dine-and-dash but it's another for Ace to do it."

"He'll… destroy all the small businesses in the area."

"Easily."

Quinn clicked her tongue. "...well, if you have your own money, you can pay it off. Otherwise, though, no. So long as he can get away without dragging us down? It's fine as far as I care."

"How can we have money if you're in charge of it all?"

He's got her there. She sighs and rubs at her eyes pinching the bridge of her nose in the same motion. "I'll start putting together allowances every time we get to a new island or something. But, right now, we barely have enough for necessities and I would have splurged with getting Kat some new clothes-"

It was worth it. He'd nearly cried and had worn two at once once she presented him with the bag, _"I've… I've never really gotten a gift before. N-Not one that I can really remember!"_ And then nearly laughed himself silly once he realized they were all space and extraterrestrial-themed.

"-if Ace and I hadn't robbed that group harassing that girl." She paused. "I think you all are a terrible, horrible influence on me. I would've never even thought to do that before I joined this crew. You're making me use my powers for… for _evil._ "

"We didn't make you do anything." Spices eyes roll. "Besides, you didn't even feel guilty, did you?"

"...They deserved it, acting like that. Pissed me off."

"Right. Because that's the normal reaction."

"Well, I wasn't planning on doing anything at first! I was just frustrated because people like that suck but, as we were walking away, I was stuck in my head saying 'great, can't do anything about it' but then," she raised a finger, "I realized 'yes, but actually no.'"

"...I feel like you're quoting something but I haven't a clue to what…"

She noticeably deflates. "Point is. I'm already a criminal now, might as well do crimes."

"So you got drunk with power."

She chuckles. "Well, when you say it like that…"

Kat lets out an exasperated laugh. "Really?"

"It was more of a light buzzing- a buzz of power."

" _Really!"_

It probably says a lot about them that none of them go to grab Ace and make a quick getaway. Not wanting to also be blamed for his dining-and-dashing routine that he was starting to pick up. He was on his own there.

Speaking of which, they all blink as he slides to a stop, turns around and bows at the waist, "thank you for the food!"

They burst into laughter.

"You're _thanking_ them?!"

They're sent into another round of howling at the reaction the restaurant workers give.

Oh, Quinn hasn't been here for very long. Not really. They're pushing a month now in grand total since she'd joined Ace's crew but it somehow feels like it's been much, much longer.

It feels strange because now it was starting to get hard to remember a time when she wasn't with them and- to be perfectly honest, she didn't think she was missing much.

"Really are such an odd crew…" Spice mutters.

"You're part of us now, so what does that make you?"

Quinn had to admit that she'd been a little worried when Spice joined. Afraid that he would upset the balance that their trio had created or introduce some new dynamic that left them wanting. Apparently, there had been no need to because Spice slotted into their lives and crew with an ease that had her envious.

Don't get her wrong- it wasn't the same as it was before. It couldn't be, after all. They were so closely interwoven in each other's day to day lives- and with them being on a ship like they were, both before and now, how _couldn't_ they be?- that every conversation each of them had as individuals painted them as a whole. Adding a new person into that was bound to change what they had. Making Spice a final piece of a puzzle clicking into place and, by simply joining, he became a source of something that Quinn only realized now that they were sorely desperate for: _Calm._

She'd be the first to admit that she only realized that fact because she thought it was weird how much more relaxed she'd been. It was one thing to realize you were tense, it was another to realize you _weren't._

And, looking back, she can see why. As much as Quinn loved Ace and Kat- and she thinks that without acknowledging the full connotations of that word, ignoring the way it made her chest squeeze and stutter in surprise over the sheer simplicity in saying it- there was a decidedly small amount of maturity. Unsurprising, really. Kat might as well still be a kid and Ace had never bowed to an authoritative figure before in his life. In combination with her, who was inclined to go with the flow for the most part, even if she knew it would end badly or work her up, it was a disaster waiting to happen at best and unnecessarily stressful at worst.

A presence like Spice though? An older man and experienced older brother with tantalizing food and not a single humble bone in his body was taking a weight off her shoulders that, not only had she not realized was there, but also made her realize that she hadn't been prepared to bear it. Not at all.

(She could have. But she hadn't wanted to. It was what had her tense, pent up like a spring about to burst, and she didn't need a return to stressors like that- especially when they can be avoided.)

Honestly, though, Spice was fitting in well, even if they'd had a few hiccups getting to know each other. Especially considering Quinn hadn't spent much time interacting with him on his home island.

...

...

Spice isn't sure exactly what to make of Quinn.

She's tall for a woman, not anywhere close to his height of course, but humans can often push the threshold of "giant" for no reason other than wack genetics- Big Mom was a testament to that fact- nine feet tall was hardly unusual the further you explored. The point was, that he very much had to look down on her when speaking to her. Something that, he'll admit, pissed people off endlessly and that he went out of his way to make worse more often than not.

Quinn simply raises a brow, not cowed in the least, from having to look almost directly upwards to make eye contact with him.

"I don't see how they think you were once a noble," he stares, "I think most of them would be scared, wouldn't you?"

It startles her out of the serious façade. " _Right?!_ Right?!"

"Then again, I haven't met any. So perhaps this is accurate."

"Gh. You're just saying that to mess with me," she huffs, "I'm _not_ a damn noble."

"Hm… Why does it bother you so much?"

"People can make assumptions of me all they want. But I at least want them to be based on something that I actually am." She grimaces. "And Noble in this world- _seas-place-augh_ has all sorts of connotations that really don't paint a picture that's even close to accurate."

He hums.

"...You know when you say things like 'in this world' people may even think you used to be a Dragon."

She pales, jaw dropping and looking so horrified that he doesn't know if he hit the nail on the end or is so completely out of left field he can't even see where the game is even happening anymore. She makes a noise that sounds somewhere between a wheeze and a choke. At a loss for words.

Yeah, Spice really doesn't know what to make of Quinn.

"What's your food preference?"

"Auh?"

He asks, because, really. He had meant to already but asking it now serves to throw Quinn even further off her game- a victory; one that he smirks at 'cause now it was worth the waiting. Especially with the flabbergasted noise she gives in response.

"M-My… food preferences?"

"Yes."

She makes a couple more noises that sound like dying in the back of her throat before she's shaking her head and carding her hand through her bangs, not looking even slightly mollified by the obvious change in subject. "I- I'm not allergic to anything except seasonal allergies. I'll eat anything."

"Sure. That doesn't mean you'll enjoy it."

She frowns. "It's…"

Quinn opens her mouth, closes it, then falls silent and just shifts awkward in place. It's almost like she's afraid of saying anything and he can see her glancing off to the side with a nervousness that has him growing impatient. "Why are you making this so difficult?"

"I-" She looks like she's about to say something but stops. "I don't like whole tomatoes. Or chopped, or anything like that."

"Clarify."

"I don't like the texture. Pureed or… ketchup'ed is fine. Just not when they're big."

Well that's the weirdest way she could have ever possibly said that. What a weirdo. "Okay. Anything else?"

She bites her lip.

"Just say it."

"I… don't…" She winces, looks away. If possible, she looks even more nervous than before and he thinks she might even be breaking into a sweat. "Like seafood."

He stares.

"You're a pirate."

"...Yes."

"Seafood is the main diet of _at least_ ninety percent of the population. The only people that have the option of it _not_ being a significant part of their diet are rich."

"...Yes."

"The only food you had access to before on this crew was fish and what you picked up from a tropical island with weird animals."

"Unfortunately."

"...Is that why you eat so little?"

"No, I just don't eat a lot in the first place. But it- definitely keeps me from going back for seconds." She shakes her head. "I mean. I'm better with fish than things like clams and oysters and… yeah. And I've never had Seaking before, so maybe I'll like that."

"Is there any seafood… you do like?"

"Um. I like clam chowder."

"You just said you didn't like clams more."

"...I like the chowder part more than the clam part."

He rubs his temples. Yes. He really didn't know what to make of Quinn. He cracks an eye open, "...Are you sure you're not a Noble?"

_"Stop it."_

…

…

Quinn couldn't help but pout. "Jerks." If there was a rock or pebble to kick, she would be doing so right now. Instead, there isn't, so she has to settle for crossing her arms over her chest and slumping against the ship's railing. So she was a bit huffy. She felt she should be. Especially since the two causes of her annoyance were still cackling like madmen.

The door to the cabin opened.

And Spice _stared._

"Quinn, there's people in my way." He deadpans, face blank. Though, through careful observation and practice, she was beginning to get a handle on his minute expressions, she could spot his brow twitching into a furrow and the slightest of wrinkles in his forehead starting to crease the longer he stared.

She ducks her head, nods. "Yep."

"Why."

He asked, voice stressed.

Quinn cleared her throat, "They wanted to-"

"PUSH-UP COMPETITION!"

"That."

Katsura giggled, a bit breathless from his shout and managed to belt out a triumphant: "I'm winning!"

"Wha- no!" Ace rebuked, sounded both incredulous and affronted. "I have at least two on you!" Saying that, he pumped out a few more quicker than Katsura could even go down. The pair of them down on one hand each, the other placed firmly behind their back. "I'm- not- gonna- lose-"

Quinn just pinched the bridge of her nose.

Spice's brows raised.

"Good to know at least one of us is mature enough not to join in on the antics."

She blushed.

Visibly.

Her grip on her arms tightening, tensing, as she looked away.

And Spice's face fell flat.

"Hrmn…" She coughed into her shoulder, trailing off, "Well, I…?"

Ace cackled, "She got, like, twelve in and then keeled over!"

"Oye!" She snapped, "I did not," she clenched her fist indignantly, trying (and failing) to hide her suddenly blooming red cheeks, "I got… at least twenty."

"You say that like it's impressive." Spice ends up deadpanning at the same time Ace shoots her an amused look, both eyebrows raised, and says, "Wimp!" The both of them not even trying to hide their obvious judgement. She flushed.

Pressing her lips together into a flat line and looking away with a muttered, "Whatever."

…

…

Katsura was taking a shower.

So Ace was the only one to start screaming. "What are you doing-?! Grab her, grab her, grab her-!" He's tugging at his hair and feeling completely powerless because she's much too far away and his first instinct was to jump in after her but _he can't anymore._ "She's _drowning!"_

Spice stares blankly.

Much, much too calm.

"...Huh."

"Don't just say 'huh'! _Help out!"_

"...She's a pirate. She should be able to swim, shouldn't she?"

"NO!" Ace howled, falling to his knees and punching the deck in sheer frustration. "She's a Devil Fruit User!"

Spice blinks.

Slowly.

And then suddenly comes to awareness. "...Oooh. Right." He's still much too slow on the uptake. "Forgot about that."

Quinn does eventually get saved. Getting held up by the back of her shirt and not looking unlike a frazzled, pissed off cat as Spice yanked her back onto the deck and held her up in her weakened state. She lets out a little cough. Spitting up water and looking like her eyes are close to rolling into the back of her head from lack of oxygen. "Screw…" She coughed and hacked and almost sounded like she was a frog croaking. "...you…"

Well.

She's alive.

At least.

"Didn't realize you were serious about the luck thing. Sorry."

…

…

Kat's crying.

"Shut up, no, I'm not!" He sobs. "Don't look at me!"

Spice huffs out something that sounds close to a laugh. "...It's just East Blue Royal Seafood Amok." He tilts his head. "Have you really never had it before?"

"Is… so good though…"

He snorts. "Obviously. I made it after all," he points to Quinn, who's currently fighting off Ace's attempts at stealing her food with resounding failure on all fronts, "but I'm pretty sure even Quinn would have-"

She shakes her head. "Sorry, never even heard of it before."

"-then Ace-"

"I mean. I still don't really know what it is and I'm eatin' it."

Spice's brow twitches. "Uncultured… swines…"

_"Hey."_

(Ace leans down, grabbing Quinn's shirt and lifts it up to wipe his face on it.

She stares.

Grabs a handful of food off of her plate, the bit that remains, and slaps him upside the head with it. "The _fuck!_ Quinn?!")

Kat and Spice purposefully ignore the squabble going on right next to them. And the fact that Quinn just bit Ace when he went to pinch her on the cheek and tug her face in opposite directions and successfully pissed him off enough that he's tackling her onto the ground beside the table.

_("Stop biting me!"_

_"It's the only thing that works now!")_

Yes, they safely ignore that.

"It's a fairly common dish. And for someone who's a pescatarian, I would assume that you've tried it at least once or twice."

Kat smiles a little, sharp teeth poking out from between his lips as he rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "Well. Before the East Blue I lived in the Grand Line, so this wasn't so common there. And- I've kinda been… _alone_ since I had to move here." It turns a little sad. "After Queen Otohime was murdered, it wasn't really safe for my mother or me to stay." He then perks up. "I've never really had the chance to go out an eat and the only food I've been making for years has been over a fire or what I could find in some people's garbage-"

There's a second where the squabbling freezes in the background and it's enough for Ace to get the upper hand now that he's not worried about teeth nipping at his fingers and to throw Quinn flat on her back. She blinks up at the ceiling, blank. Before a vicious glare pointed at no one appears on her face.

"-so this is really, _really_ good! I haven't thought about food like this in awhile." Kat chirps. "This is the first time I've had a homemade meal in… in… I don't even know."

Quinn shoots him an unreadable expression.

And Ace and Spice share a look.

"Hey, Spice, your cookbook… it's meant to explore dishes from other cultures, right?"

"Of course."

"Mnh. I may not be much of a chef, but I know a bunch of recipes. If I wrote them down, you'd probably want to try your hand at them, wouldn't you?"

"Naturally."

Quinn nods and with an ease that belied the blatant manipulation, she turned to Kat, "Why don't you join me, Kat?" Said boy doesn't catch on. It probably helps that Quinn is so nonchalant about it that it barely even comes across as a question, said as if she were describing the weather and it leaves no room for argument. Not that they imagined she'd get one. "I'm sure Fishman Island had recipes Spice would be interested in. Maybe a couple favorites from when you were a kid."

"Oh, really? I don't know if I would remember them…"

"My own home-"

Spice is surprised to see both Ace and Kat freeze at the words and the way Quinn's voice is a little tight when she says them. He gets the rather accurate impression that Quinn doesn't talk about herself much. And especially not where she's from-

(Unbeknownst to her, it's part of where the "Noble" joke came from. Because where Ace and Kat shared details of their own home island, Quinn would say nothing. And the things she did offer up were never in direct referral to any place in particular, as if she was being purposely vague.

She was. And they were right.

It also gave them the semi-accurate impression that she didn't want to share it with them. Whether it be because she didn't trust them- something they were admittedly disinclined to believe- or because there were too many memories wrapped up in it that were… probably not good. They don't know.)

-but freely volunteered info is freely volunteered. Even if it's still vague and only done out of controlling the flow of a conversation.

Ace and Kat are probably a bit too rapt.

"-is pretty _worldly_ , especially when it comes to food. It's a bit like what Spice intends to do actually. Bringing a bunch of cultures food together, whether fusing it or just introducing it to the general palate." And it even has Spice attentive with a descriptor like _that._ "So I might've heard of something similar to something you might only remember a little bit about and could probably help you with anything you've forgotten. Or point you in the right direction. You know, if we write it together later."

It gets an excited: "Sure!" And Kat unaware that he's just been manipulated into sharing recipes from his childhood for Spice to try his hand in and present him with. Then again, they don't know if he would care even if he had noticed.

Later, Spice will turn to Ace with a curiosity that only grows, and ask, "Where is Quinn from?"

"Don't know exactly. But she said the Grand Line one time. Why?"

And he'll frown and offer a shrug in response. Hoping a little, that they might run into Quinn's home sooner or later once they reach that graveyard' sea. Food-fusion and a wide-range of dishes from over the world- it sounded almost too good to be true.

(Honestly, it sounded a bit like the All Blue, but that sounded ridiculous to even him.)

…

…

"What's their name?"

Kat nearly falls off the railing he's sitting on and into the water below, startled. "Huh?"

"Your… _weapon._ Your claws."

Spice honestly doesn't know what to call them.

"Oh. They- They don't have a name."

That makes his lips, already pressed into a line, thin even moreso. "You should name it."

"I- Why?"

Kat is… confused. He holds up the claw-like blades and inspects them diligently. Spice had come over while he was cleaning them and he carefully places one down to start on the other. Spice simply shrugs, "There's power in a name. It makes a connection. Why do you think people name pets?"

It garners a surprised chuckle. "Weapons aren't exactly the same."

"Why not? By your side, something you take care of, and, depending, they protect you."

Well. When he puts it like that, it just sounds obvious.

"Does your sword have a name?"

"Yes…" There's a moment of silence, or as silent as they can be with the ocean slapping up against the side of the ship as noisily as it possibly could. Kat couldn't help but notice that there seemed to be a lot of unusual currents popping up lately, ones that he'd expect to find closer to Belle but decided best to not draw attention to them when they didn't seem to be causing any problems. " ** _Sage Weaver_**. I named it after my mother." Kat jerks in surprise. "It was her sword. Once. And went by a different name then… but now…"

He trails off and Katsura doesn't ask for more.

He fiddles with his claws.

He doesn't think he could name them after his mother. They were a gift from her, sure, but- He doesn't think her name would suit them. Because, when he thought of her, he didn't think of violence and fighting and to name something made for that after her…

No. That wouldn't work out.

"...I have no idea what to call them."

"That's fine. Take time, figure out something that works."

"I don't know where to even start."

It feels embarrassing to admit. Like he doesn't have a clue as to what he's even doing, which, to be fair, is accurate, but he doesn't want others to know that.

It takes a while yet for Spice to respond and, jn that time, he's cleaned both and is simply watching the sea and listening to the waves crash. There's going to be a small storm during the night. Not a bad one, but it'll probably rain a lot.

"...Well. What do you fight for?"

Hm.

Good question.

Kat will have to get back to him on that.

...

...

Quinn walks into the gallery and nearly turns right back around and walks out. "What the-?"

Kat and Ace both freeze. Like a pair of kids with their hands caught in the proverbial cookie jar but, hell, that would've been welcome compared to this sight.

"Uh. It's not what it looks like?"

"And, pre tell, what does it look like that it's not?"

Whatever.

Quinn might as well join in.

…

Spice walks into the gallery and nearly turns right back around and walks out. "What the-?"

Kat and Ace and Quinn all freeze. Caught red handed.

"Uh. It's not what it looks like?"

Spice.

Stares.

"..."

Kat is holding a pair of eggs, one in each hand.

"..."

Quinn has a can of non-stick spray in one hand and a spatula in the other.

"..."

And Ace lays on the floor, chest bare like it always is, but noticeably concentration on the flames flickering over his body.

"..."

Spice _stares._

_Hard._

"...I'll go get my camera ready."

They all cheer.

...

...

"And what's your job on the crew?"

Spice was the cook, Katsura was the navigator, Ace was the Captain- and therefore could be forgiven for not having a niche set of skills- but Quinn, aside from helping out pretty much everywhere-

(He would get his ass kicked if he suggested Cabin Girl, he knows. Even if he was stronger than her. She'd somehow scrounge up the strength.)

-didn't seem to have a specified position.

She opens her mouth. Closes it.

Comes to the realization that she doesn't know.

"I- You know how people say to cut off rabbits feet because it's lucky?"

"Yeah?"

_"That."_

And since that tells him literally nothing, he goes to ask Ace instead.

"What's Quinn's job?"

He nods.

"Well, she kinda does whatever. I mean, she doesn't think I notice but I know she's been repairing mine and Kat's clothes since we don't really take care of them all that well. And she cleans a lot too," he pauses then makes an annoyed face that doesn't look nearly annoyed as it usually would be, "but she gets on mine and Kat's cases about doing our own chores all the time."

Spice frowns.

"She's smart too! So she kinda took over all the money stuff 'cause, while I'm good at hoarding it, I don't really know how to manage it. And she's been organizing a lot of stuff so-"

He pushes, voice flat, "Is she just a glorified Cabin Girl?"

Aa. There's the real annoyance there. "Hey, don't look down on her." Ace snipes, voice low and in a grumble and an accidental flame starts acting up at the edges of his hair that he quickly pats down, something odd passing over his face. "What's this even about? You're not angry 'cause she talks back to you, are you?"

"No." Not him. "But she talks back to _you._ "

The _Captain,_ he wants to stress.

Ace snorts. "She's been doing it since before she even joined my crew. And she joined within minutes of meeting me." The fire bursts in and out of life and there's a momentary flicker of concentration on his face before it finally snuffs itself out. "Not what I imagined in a First Mate but it's definitely fun."

Something like understanding falls over Spice. "She's… the First Mate then." It clicks into place with a shocking amount of sense.

"Well, yeah. I thought that was obvious?"

And yes, looking back, it certainly does make quite a bit of sense. However, "Huh," that does beg the question on why she didn't just say she was the right-hand, "does she _know_ that she's First Mate?"

Ace seemed flabbergasted by the question. "Why the hell wouldn't she?" Which is answer enough.

"Aa."

So she doesn't know then.

That's… kind of funny actually.

-0-

She would like to think that she retained some semblance of stability in her life despite all its… ups and downs and plot twists. _Particularly_ despite the plot twists. At least with knowing which direction she was headed with her life.

Hell, probably. Or was she already there?

The notion had her snorting to herself.

That said, _a pirate's life for me~_ wasn't what she had in mind after all this time- and the rocking of the ship beneath her feet certainly wasn't giving her a sense of any stability. Quite the opposite really. It wasn't helpful that sleep was clawing needily at her eyes either, the greedy bitch. Clearly power naps weren't staving it away and, while sleeping like a normal human and not being awake at an ungodly hour was tempting… every attempt at lying down was fraught with sheer restlessness and the overwhelming feel to punch something.

God, could you have a midlife crisis at twenty? Would it even be considered one?

She was pretty sure that that was what she was feeling right now.

So… no sleep. And the bags were beginning to show.

"Ke-!" She whipped around.

...oh, Katsura was just rolling over in his sleep. The lucky duck.

Twitchiness. That was a thing too. A mounting paranoia. Sooner or later it'd run right out of its stables if she didn't get it under control. It had her body tense and her hands shaking violently- to the point where wiping the soap off was a bit harder than it should have been.

Quinn sighed, soft and a little comforting, plunging her hands back into the water.

Between the snores of the boys she really didn't have to be quiet, the steady clink of plates and dishes being washed was rather soothing actually. To the point where she had rewashed and rewashed and rewashed and… you get the point. She placed the final plate back in its stack, foot tapping in a fidgety manner. Impatient, a tiny bit furious.

She stared down at the water in the sink. Though, it was really more soap and dirt by now. Maybe even a bit of blood, she had rubbed a bit too hard and peeled away a bit of skin. But it was dark enough that most of what she could see was only the faint outline of her palms under the water surface, the only light being a lantern that had been left out on the counter and only had a small flame left burning away.

Dimly, she contemplated just dunking her head down and _really_ falling asleep. It would certainly be better than being stuffed in borrowed, too small clothes, sharing an incredibly small space with two baby men and a mini-giant, and on a ship that really didn't even really have a decent _fucking bathroom._

(Something in her must've really snapped because she was happy before, wasn't she? Just a couple hours ago, she was fine with everything around her but now- now she can only find the problems.)

That's not accounting for the loss in technology, culture, music, and… everything else she was suffering.

Her shoulders slumped.

Just…

An incredible feeling of loss. Of stability.

"Homesick?"

She would deny the strangled yelp and fumble. Breathing heavily, a hand on her heart as if to stop its rapid beating, "Oh, Spice… you scared me."

"Oh. Sorry." He didn't sound sorry at all. "You had an odd look in your eyes."

"...did I?"

"Yes."

"...hnm…"

Not knowing what to say she looked down at her feet. This was- _awkward_. He made to move to her side and she shuffled out of his way as he picked the just-cleaned dish and dunked it back into the soapy water, cleaning it. Again. There was a long moment of quiet, broken only by the sound of cleaning dishes until; "So was I right?"

For an equally long moment she hesitated before saying, "...Y-Yeah. I guess… you could say that."

It was a bit of an understatement.

Just by a teensy _bit._

Spice nodded. "You know-"

"Huh?"

"I usually am done washing dishes by the thirteenth try but you really take the cake by going for _fourteen._ "

She froze.

"...y-yeah." It came out small, a tiny squeak. She bowed her head. "Sorry."

He shrugged, and in the lighting she could just barely make out his permanent frown twitching down further. "I don't take it that's the only thing that's got you up."

No. It wasn't. But it was- "The most important one."

Spice nodded.

There was a long moment of silence.

"Where are you from?"

"Hm?"

"I may have not been apart of this crew for very long but even I know where Ace and Katsura came from and at least a bit about them. You though, you haven't said so much as a word." Spice eyed her. "Ace said he picked you up from an island called Saigen? Is that your home?"

Quinn scoffed at just the thought.

"No." Then she bit her lip, "It's… hard to say. Where I'm from. Um." Spice gave her an uncomprehending look. "Yeah, that doesn't really help, does it? Keheh." Quinn laughed awkwardly, trailing off.

"Just say it as it is." Spice suggested.

Her lip is bleeding and it stings, and she crouches down, gripping the counter, to rest her forehead against it. "I… I'm from New York. It's not an island… or a country, or village, or town, uhh. And it's not that great of a place but I… do…" She winced. "...miss it? I guess?"

"You sound unsure."

"...It's not the _place._ But my-" Oh god, this was hard to put into words without saying anything incriminating. "-homes' culture… and everything else! T-This place, the islands we've been going to, feel like a whole nother world." She mumbles softly. "It's… overwhelming." It was such an understatement of the feeling.

It was _crippling._

"I think that's what they call homesickness." Spice dried off the dishes, putting them away and clearing the sink.

Quinn felt her lips quirk up, but not happily. She didn't expect him to get it. There was trouble grasping the sheer scale she was trying to convey without completely going off the rails and-

It was just hard. She rubbed her hands over her eyes. "...Yeah, I guess it is."

This was a bad idea. She should've just kept her mouth shut.

"What do you miss?"

Quinn turned around to find Katsura and Ace both sitting up and peering through the dark, brown and grey eyes glinting respectively. Kat was practically laying in Ace's lap, on his elbows, both having fallen out of their respective hammocks and onto Spice's bed, and Ace was rubbing at his eyes tiredly. Katsura was the one to ask the question but Ace was also looking up at her curiously, gaze a bit unreadable. Quinn's bite harshened on her bottom lip, "...Technology, food, languages, books, even the godawful music… there's a lot that's not the same. More than I can say."

"We've got time." Ace stood up, dusting himself off and moving to the table. "The sun's gonna be up in a few hours anyways."

"Yeah, yeah! Tell us all about where you're from."

Quinn blinked wildly. It may have just been her tired state but that hit somewhere soft in the heart.

She glanced up at Spice, who gave a rare smile, "I might as well get started on breakfast then. And you can tell us about all the recipes from your home."

A small smile of endearment flitted over her face and she took a seat across from Ace and Kat. Gently relighting the lantern so they could all actually see each other.

And even though the floor moved beneath her feet she'd never felt more stable.

"I don't know what to say. Not… Not really."

Not without talking about things that would take much too long to explain. Like cars, trains, phones, the internet. But, if she was careful, maybe then… Maybe then she could take a bit of the weight off her shoulders.

"But… The city I'm from, it had a nickname that I've always really liked, and it was true too!" She smiles, a shaky nervousness to the look, one that they grant with obvious interest. "It was called _The City That Never Sleeps…"_

(If they notice the use of past tense, no one says anything.)

…

…

Quinn snaps awake, jerking up in her sleep with a gasp and sudden anxiety gripping her heart, only semi-aware of the fact that she'd startled the boys out of a card game they were playing next to her. They'd let her sleep in when they'd noticed the lack of sleep she'd been getting lately and Quinn is pretty sure that Spice had carried her to her own bed. "Oh. My. God."

"What? What?"

She wheezes.

"I forgot about Reverse Mountain."

-0-

There's the telltale clicks of Morse code. Transceivers registering and quick translations. A quiet murmur in the serious silence of work is the only noise in the room, of multiple someone's giving reports and clarifying information. Careful to not disturb the rest.

"...increase in sales, slave market has been booming ever since that new species started cropping up…"

"...Sharp-Tooth Tribe has been getting more and more isolated over the years and reports saying that they're starting to resort to cannibalism…"

"...trying to implement new slave-grounds in West Blue…"

"...Germa 66 have been sighted near the border, possibly trying to cause a fight between…"

"...flying island spotted over East Blue, attributed to Shiki but need confirmation…"

There's a pause, a click, and then the door closes as a man looking over the room wanders through, newspaper under one arm. There's hardly even a pause as each of the people stationed at their desks offer up the briefest of nods to the blonde.

He sweeps through with hardly a glance before disappearing along an extended corridor on the other side, greeted by a young woman with a scowl on her face and arms crossed.

"Took you long enough."

He offers a small laugh, quiet but it sounds loud in the empty hallway. "Got distracted. Hey, read about that factory over in the East Blue?"

Her eyes roll. "Of course I did. That's old news now." She huffs and grabs him by the collar, tugging him into a sideroom. "And we have a meeting to get to about a new mission- stop keeping Dragon waiting!"

"Aa- Koala!"

"What's got you so interested in it anyways? Or is it just an excuse for your lateness?"

"No, it's-" He rubs the back of his head, sighing out through his nose. "I don't know. I feel like I should be looking for something but… can't seem to find it. No matter how hard I look." He grunts, pulling himself from her hold so he could walk next to her. "It's… _annoying."_

"...And you chose the one newspaper that has to do with the East blue."

He remains silent.

_"Sabo."_

"Hrnngh."

"That tells you something, doesn't it? That it has to do with your…"

"Hrrnn _nng_ h."

She scowls at him.

"Look, I don't know, Koala. But I didn't want to go back before- still don't. That's the one thing I _do_ remember." He shakes his head. "If the feeling is that strong, I doubt there's anything _worth_ remembering waiting for me." It's his turn to scowl, glaring at the paper. "I could do without the stupid reminders though."

She sighs, "...Yeah, yeah. I know what you're saying. C'mon. This'll distract you, I'm sure."

He leaves the newspaper on a table, forgotten, as they enter the meeting room and get briefed on their next mission and focus for the next couple weeks, if not months. Unaware that the page he'd left it on was of a faulty, general description of a group of pirates and that this was around the time that his eldest of brothers was supposed to be setting sail. But- ah, such is the lack of interest from amnesiacs that don't know what to look for and don't get accurate information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter is Logue Town: Where The World Once Stood Still! The Island That Ace Refuses!
> 
> I went back and added chapter names that mimicked the style of titles in the early anime. :d I really liked those, even if they usually had spoilers in them, I thought they were really charming
> 
> (Ace 100% checked Quinn out btw)
> 
> Also! Sabo! Yayyy!


	17. Logue Town: Where The World Once Stood Still! The Island That Ace Refuses!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (minor) Warning: catcalling, referenced/implied dysphoria, implied/referenced suicidal thoughts, (sad Ace *insert frowny face*)
> 
> This fic is now apart of a series (unfortunately, I have not organized enough to add to it just yet but be looking for that) and the series notes has some sneak peaks into characters/future characters without being too spoiler-y.

It was raining again.

It's a light drizzle, admittedly, but it hangs in the air. Painting the air just above the ocean waves with a white and heavy mist that stretches far as the eye can see. There had been a lot of gray days recently, but she supposed that was to be expected, it was only mid-February after all.

Quinn balances on the railing, careful of the ship shifting beneath her feet, it's easier to keep balance than it normally would be- considering that they're docked and, no matter which way she fell, if she lost her footing, there would be wood from either the deck or the docks to catch her on her way down. "What's the news on the sea today?"

"Wet!"

Yeah, she can definitely see that.

She shouldn't but it gets a chuckle. "No kidding, who would've guessed?" She sips from her mug. Not coffee for once, Spice had taken to setting limits once he realized how much she consumed on the daily. Whether for health or because she was drinking them all out of house and home, she couldn't say. Either were possible. "Ugh, hot chocolate does nothing for me."

"It's not supposed to!"

"Has Ace still not woken up yet?"

"Mnh, no. Don't worry, I've got him. You can go bother Spice for breakfast."

"You sure? 'Cause I can stay by his-"

"I'm sure. You've been up since last watch, you need the rest too. Even if _his_ is unintentional."

"Okay…" He doesn't seem convinced. He never does. "What did Spice make-?"

"Fish over rice for you!"

"Yay!"

He rushes off and she shakes her head after him, looking to the sleeping Ace laid out on the deck, a pillow- now designated specifically for him with a mimicry of his tattoo embroidered on the side. (Quinn had received a hug for that one, an incredibly quick and short one, and one that had definitely caught her by surprise because she hadn't even had the chance to return it. She pointedly had said nothing about the slightly misty-eyed look on his face.) And a blanket thrown over the top of him.

He didn't even twitch. Breath light but bordering on a snore with every rise and fall of his chest.

This was certainly the longest spell yet and she didn't know whether to be worried about it or not. She didn't know if it meant he was getting more sleep than normal or if he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. Or if he would just be much more tired the whole day.

She just knows that he'd almost gone overboard again and she was getting more and more worried about it. And antsy.

"You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days, Ace…" Maybe she could find something to help? She wasn't sure. "Doing that on the Grand Line, it'll be a death sentence, and not just because of your Devil Fruit." Everyone in fanfics seemed to find what they needed in Loguetown, maybe it'd be the same for her? Quinn wasn't exactly holding out hope.

But it seemingly had everything, being a commercial island with a Marine Base and all.

She grits her teeth as a wolf-whistle comes from the other side of the docks.

She could definitely do without the catcalling though.

"The hell. It's just as bad as walking past a construction site." Quinn can't help but mutter, shoulders tensing and head down as she takes care to not even cast a glance their way. Even as early in the morning as it is, there's a surprising amount of sailors, dock workers, and less than savory folk up and about.

(She pointedly ignores the fact that _she_ would fall under the 'less than savory' category and so would everyone else on the ** _Stellar._** )

Unfortunate, then, that she was also one of the few women up and about because it made her one of the prime targets for attention. Especially now that Kat had disappeared back inside the cabin to eat and help Spice clean up from breakfast.

Quinn couldn't help a shuddering shiver running up her spine as someone jeered some comment that she didn't care to repeat and even the ones that would be considered 'nice', had they been said in any other situation or context, had her paranoid beyond belief. Gods, she'd forgotten how predatory some people could be and wow- was she feeling incredible amounts of sympathy for the regular women of this world because. Ouch. They did _not_ have the headphones on, in-a-phone-call strategy that often worked so well at getting rid of a good percentage of the calling. Or, hell, even calling a taxi or uber for a quick get away when some dumbass got it in their head to follow.

Speaking of: "Hey, doll. What'cha up to?"

She leaps off the railing and back onto the deck of the ship.

Ugh. Today was not her day, huh.

Quinn wishes for it to start raining harder, that would definitely start clearing the streets. But alas- it stays the simple drizzle that barely does more than start frizzing up her hair. Not near enough to get people to hide away.

And the man, admittedly more attractive than a good majority of those sneering but no less wolfish, if even more so, leant across the docks to try and get in closer. "Mind if I join you?"

"I do mind, actually."

She begrudgingly answers because she knows if she doesn't he'll take it as an invitation.

"Hard to get, cute."

Ooh, she's going to stab him.

"Aw, you blushin'? I like it when women blush for me-" He smirks and- and-

And then he does the unforgivable.

And something in Quinn just _snaps._

It's really nothing big, but it blows all the comments he'd made and the catcalling from the others straight out of the water.

A hiss comparable to a snake slides along her tongue before she even realizes she's doing it.

" _Who_ ," it's a startling venomous syllable that has her jaw clicking in barely held in rage, and a glimmer of promised violence abruptly passes through her gaze, "gave you permission to come on board?"

Because that's what he's done.

The sheer stupidity and arrogance is astounding.

Or, really, he's only followed her example of jumping on the railing, one leg thrown over the side as he sits instead of stands, and the audacity was enough to have her flabbergasted, but the honest to god insolence is enough to have her pulling her knife from its sheath and-

The door to the cabin snaps open with a thud and Spice stalks out in all his glory, takes one look at the man that has attempted to sleaze his way onto their ship, and a hard look passes over his face. "Orders, Quinn?"

(Looking back, she'll facepalm at herself, because Spice does not simply defer to someone unless there's a reason to and, of course, there was one. Her being in-charge with Ace temporarily out of commission. But she doesn't realize it for what it is, not for quite some time still.)

She's too angry to be surprised by the question. Quietly taking satisfaction in the way the man pales drastically, eyes flicking from her to Spice and then back again, some bit of intelligence coming back to him as he takes in the knife at her hip and the massive sword on Spice's back- some part of his brain realizes the mistake that he's made because he really, _really_ shouldn't have approached the unfamiliar woman if the man-with-the-big-ass-sword was asking _her_ for orders. And Quinn slowly slides her knife back into its sheath, fingers twitchy and glare harsh enough that it has the dockworker scrambling back.

"Remove him before I do. I don't care how."

Quinn is immensely pleased to note that the whole thing has the previous catcallers looking away and sweaty with nerves, especially as she passes a dark look over them all.

Hm. Well, good. Seems they won't be bothered anymore.

It's funny, actually. As Spice slams the flat of his blade into the man's gut and sends him careening into the water below with a loud splash, that none of them really realize how intimidating they could come across, or the fact that, not only was no one looking their way anymore, but they were also giving their ship a wide berth.

Such was the livelihood of pirates, apparently.

That morning, or perhaps it would be more fair to say that it was last night, considering they had arrived while it was still dark and the sun had yet to even edge a bit over on the horizon, had them docking and looking curiously over the island that seemed more stone than earth.

Loguetown.

It was exactly as Quinn pictured it would be.

Which wasn't strange, One Piece was a visual medium after all, and Loguetown had been an island that stood out, even if it was simple by Oda standards. The city was honestly the most modernized place Quinn had seen between all the other islands they've visited. The buildings were tall and concrete, and while it was definitely more cobbled together by handmade work that gave it a more humble and loved feel, she couldn't help but tilt her head looking out over it all.

"Wha's got your attention?" She doesn't twitch from where she's crouched next to Ace as he stirs awake, sounding absolutely exhausted.

"This place… It reminds me of home."

"Does it?"

"Yeah. Vaguely."

Ace hums, taking in the sight of the city with a half hooded look, cramming his hat a bit deeper down on his head. "You got family back home?" It was something he'd noticed she hadn't mentioned the other night when they'd gotten her talking, that and friends. In fact, she hadn't mentioned anyone's names.

Quinn was definitely a mystery, one not quite willing to be solved either.

"More or less."

Not really an answer, that.

"Never really put much value on it. Friends are much better, don't you think?"

The eyes that flicker to her face are downright _sly._ "And yet, back on one island, I seem to remember you calling Kat your little brother."

Quinn stubbornly doesn't look at him, hopping to her feet, "...Not the same…" she mutters but it's enough to have Ace triumphant.

Today was going to be a long day.

...

...

They don't set out immediately.

For multiple reasons, but the biggest one that Quinn takes note of is that Ace keeps shooting the city a glance before scoffing and going back to what he was doing. Disinterest evident, to say the least. If Quinn didn't know any better she would say that he's almost personally offended by the place- _Oh wait._

"Are you _sure_ this is where we need to stop to get to the Grand Line?"

"Pretty damn sure, Ace. Stop asking." This would be the fourth time now and he was only grumbling more and more as time passed. "It's the only place I know of that's near enough to the entrance _and_ where we can stock up on supplies. Hopefully, they'll have somewhere to get Log Poses since it's so close…"

"What's a Log Pose?"

"A kind of compass that specifically works on the Grand Line. Normal tools of navigation don't work because of the magnetic fields around the islands- or something like that, I wasn't really paying attention."

Kat perks up. "No, you're right! You know, sharks can sense magnetic fields-"

Oh?

"-but I haven't managed to figure out how that even works. I've heard of Fishman being able to navigate the Grand Line by instinct alone though!"

Quinn blows a raspberry at him. He got her hopes up and everything. "And then there's the cost of whatever else we might need." She turns to Spice. "Assume that we'll be at sea for a couple months, we don't know what problems we'll run into and we don't know what islands will have food that's actually edible."

The last thing they needed was to have a starving Ace- _again_ , her mind quietly whispers- because it was a miserable sight to behold. And not just because of his own pain but also his frustrating 'it's not that bad, guys' even though it clearly _was._

Quinn rubs the bridge of her nose, eyes scrunched shut. They had more money than they ever had before, so they could at least splurge a bit when it came to supplies, but there was still the matter of knowing exactly what they needed. Especially because she wasn't exactly incredibly experienced in having minimal access to stores and the like.

Wow.

No wonder people thought she exhibited Noble-like behavior.

Her thoughts are interrupted by a nervous sounding Kat, "Hey, what's with all these people glaring at us."

"Quinn got in a fight."

"You did?!"

"...Ah, Spice took care of it."

It didn't take a genius to note the eyes they were getting were anything but nice.

"We're going to get robbed."

She deadpanned.

Katsura tilted his head, "I mean, sure, they don't seem to like us but what makes you say that?"

There was a shout and somebody was thrown off the dock, gunshots ringing about as whoever did it fired into the water. Oh joy, seems like they're not the only pirates and criminals up and about now, either. No wonder the dock workers got up so early to get out to sea and go to work. And they'd clearly passed on rumors. "...just a guess."

Ace nodded along easily. If he had lived here as a kid he would be luring thugs into alleyways and robbing them blind. He could definitely see people jumping on their ship and ransacking it the moment they took a step off.

"We should either find a different place to dock but I don't think you'll want to-"

"Here's fine. I'm not gonna hide 'cause some guys looked at us funny." Ace confirmed _that_ thought immediately.

"Or, and here's what I think is probably the best for us: Leave one of us to guard the ship. Preferably one that can hold their own." She paused, "Keheh. So, not me." Before continuing, "Since we need to resupply and we only have so much money we should make our trip quick and prioritize the necessities. Food, simple bare necessities, clothes. Not only that but- Katsura."

He jumped, back going rigid at attention. "Yes?"

"You need anything for nav? Tools? Supplies?"

"O-Oh, not necessarily. I would prefer picking up a few blank journals, mapping and calligraphy supplies, but that can all wait until we get more money so-"

"Nope. Needed." She immediately put a stop to whatever spiel he was going to make. The thought of going into the Grand Line without every last possible bit of supplies they could get their hands on… A shiver ran up her spine. "Then, there's… weapons. All three of you need anything?"

Quinn pointedly looked at: Ace's knife, Katsura's freshly polished claws, and Spice's sword.

"A whetstone." Spice brought a hand back to pull the blade of his sword from its sheath. It looked… duller than normal. Quinn nodded. "Otherwise I have enough cleaning and care supplies to go around."

Neither Ace nor Katsura piped up so she took that as a 'we're good'.

"Okay then. That means…" she frowned, "Since Spice is obviously in charge of food, Katsura needs to get clothes and navigation supplies, that leaves either me or Ace to guard the ship." Quinn bit her lip. And she _really_ did not want to be left alone on the ship so hopefully Ace didn't care enough that he would-

"I'll stick around here."

It's the small things in life.

Spice and Kat, however, each looked decently taken aback, "... _Really?"_

"Hey- What's with that look?"

"No, just- really?"

"Yeah?"

"... _You?"_

" _Oy."_

"...You?"

He nods again, though more annoyed this time.

"Are you _sure?_ "

Okay. Now he's openly glaring but- but c'mon! What're they supposed to think?! This is Ace they're talking about and he- they have a perfectly good reason to be in disbelief thankyouverymuch because there-

There was just no way that their Captain, Ace, was refusing to set foot on a brand new island.

"Quinn?" Kat turns to her, hoping that she might shed some light on Ace's suddenly grumpy attitude-

She doesn't seem even the slightest bit miffed or bothered. "Hey, Ace, need me to pick you up anything? We're not going to be able to stop anywhere for longer than usual probably." He shakes his head. "You sure? Not even- like, what, snack or something to do?"

"I." Ace sounds like he's about to start growling, though not really at them, eyes closed and brows furrowed downward. "Don't. Want a single thing. From this island."

Quinn hums. "Okay then."

And Katsura is flabbergasted, staring at Ace.

"What's that look for?!"

Kat blinks at him wildly. "It's... just surprising is all. You're usually the first one on shore- I'm actually surprised you haven't run off already."

"I'm not _that_ bad."

Quinn gave him _a look. "_ You kinda are."

"What- no I'm not!" He turned to Spice. "What about you?"

Spice just stared down at him blankly. "...Do you really want me to answer that?"

He pouted, kicking a foot against the floorboards. "Whatever, you guys are jerks…"

"Uh-huh." Quinn chuckled. "Actually… it's a good thing that you're staying to watch instead of me, there's something I need to see if I can find here." There's a smirk on her face and she seems a bit lost in thought so just does not notice the confused looks she gets for that statement.

That is until they started guessing:

"A weapon?"

"Clothes?"

_"Confidence?"_

Silence. They all turned to stare at Spice. "Skill? A hair brush? A _life?_ " He stopped for a moment. Casting them a bored, bland expression. "Go on. Keep staring at me, I can go all day."

Quinn snorted, punching him in the side. Hard enough to hurt but not hard enough to actually mean it. "Keh. Shut up, loser."

Spice smirked.

Ace and Kat's mouths fell open, shocked. Spice huffed mirthfully at them, "What? Somebody gets my jokes."

"Alright," Quinn clapped her hands together. Bringing the attention back to her. "I think that's all. Well, almost. One more thing-"

She swipes Ace's hat off his head.

"How do I look?"

Quinn can't help but stick her tongue out at him as he gapes, tilting the brim and rubbing her fingers over the thread she'd embroidered. The texture was fun to feel beneath her fingers, especially since the visually simplistic design allowed for spaces between that helped it be more interesting to both the eye and to the touch.

On more than one occasion, it was a delight- at least for her standards- to spot Ace's hands running over the brim in an absentminded manner. Meant that she'd done something right at least, considering he didn't shy away from it or seemed to dislike the texture.

"Hey!"

"Not an answer but okay."

She tilts the brim of the hat, letting it catch the rain and help keep it from ruining her hair, pretending all the while that jamming the hat over her high ponytail wasn't uncomfortable as hell, and smirks as Ace sputters and goes to jump to his feet. Likely planning on retrieving his hat. "Ah, ah, ah!" He stopped. "The closest description they have is of you with this hat on, considering this island has a Marine Base… I think your hat's much safer with me today."

"Like I care about some Marines!"

"Oh, wouldn't want them to alert Garp now, would we? He is most likely still in the East Blue after all."

It's almost hilarious how Ace's face turns stark white in horror. Kat and Spice shoot them curious looks. "Tha… That's dirty…!"

"All's fair." She offers him a lazy shrug that's not at all apologetic. "Kehehe. Tell you what, I'll even bring it back better than brand new."

She really doesn't give him the chance to try and snatch it back, stalking out of his range and receiving a glare (there isn't any real heat to it) as she does so because Ace refuses to set even a foot down on the island- instead, much like a child, he falls into a seat with crossed legs and looks out at sea with a grumble, very obvious in his pouting.

"See ya."

"Yeah, yeah."

It's not long until the land-trio has gotten down the docks and pushed their way through the late-morning crowds when Spice leaned over to her, "You know, that's how you get lice."

Quinn snorts. "I'm sure I'm fine."

It gets Kat hissing at her though. "What was that all about? I thought Ace was really angry there for a second."

"He's just a grump because he doesn't like this island-"

"Why doesn't he like this island?"

Quinn says nothing.

They drop it.

"But still… Ace's hat. It's kinda weird seeing it on you."

"Really? I think I look cute." She catches a glance at herself in the window of a clothing shop with elegant dresses that she's fifty percent sure was where Nami screwed over the staff by not buying anything. The hat clashes was nearing the edge of clashing with her clothes but, honestly, didn't look half bad- Quinn especially loved the pendant and tassel in the front. "Maybe I need to steal it more often." She muses, jokingly.

"Quinn. No."

They wait for her answer and she sighs, hands tugging at the brim and hiding her face.

"It's… faded, isn't it? The orange?"

"Yeah. So?"

She chews on her bottom lip.

"Before Kat-" God, she couldn't even look at them, suddenly burning with embarrassment. "-he mentioned that he wanted to see about getting it dyed, you know, touch ups. But then things happened and, well…"

They see where she's going with this.

Kat absolutely beams at her. "Quinn, you're so sweet!"

"Stop."

"Too nice, actually. You sure you're cut out to be a pirate?"

"I ain't nice."

"You take care of us! I think that's cool."

Are her cheeks burning?

Mayhaps.

"It's nothing like that-" It is. It totally is. "-A captain has to look his best, doesn't he?"

...

...

"This may seem an odd question. But who is the Marine Captain here?"

"Oh, Captain Smoker!"

Ah, the dreaded confirmation.

Quinn chews her lip. Impossibly glad that they had yet to hoist a flag on their ship- it was still in the making after all, with both Ace and her having their hands in its creation. (Ace was surprisingly good at drawing actually. Which she, once again, thinks is a result of Luffy's own lack of skill and… endless amounts of practice in failure teaching his brother to at least color between the lines.)

"I'm not surprised you don't know. He only recently was assigned here, the last Captain was rather cruel to civilians, you see," the cashier chirps happily, "a little girl ran into the old one with ice cream and ended up attacking her out of rage. After that. We just couldn't stand it anymore."

Quinn nods along, folding the clothes she'd just bought for herself up and into her bag as Kat looked around, already having paid for his things. It was a shop- one that reminded her of Goodwill, actually, and had exceedingly cheap clothes and discounts that Quinn was absolutely in love with. Spice had long since separated from them to check out the market and look for a whetstone.

"Captain Smoker has only been here for a couple months but he's already better. He cleared out an entire group of pirates by himself!" Oh, _delightful._ "I don't imagine you'll be seeing much of him around town though. He's been doing a massive overhaul of the Marine training program, has them running laps and doing community service all over the place. It's funny! They're runnin' around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off."

"Funny."

She doesn't see much humor in people finally doing their jobs.

This is why she liked Smoker. He was always one of her favorites. It really was too bad that she'd rather not meet him in a hundred years right now.

The cashier falters at her flat reaction. "T-That should be everything. Anything else you need?"

"Mnh. You know where I could find a shop with navigational tools, we're looking for a Log Pose."

"Log Pose?" He obviously had never heard of it. "Well, if you want anything for sailing the seas, I suggest the Nav-o'war. It's a shop right next to the Sea Museum, good for tourists."

"A Sea Museum?!"

Kat perks up and Quinn can't help but chuckle. "What? You wanna go?"

He blushes and shifts from foot to foot and it's enough to have her rolling her eyes. "We should stop by the Nav-o'war first but I don't see why not."

...

...

"What do you mean _you don't have any?!"_

"Log Pose are commissioned exclusively by the Marines. It's illegal to sell them to anyone without permission."

"Excuse me, for one moment."

"...Miss, this is just a piece of paper that says give me what I want."

"And?"

"I _will_ call security."

Quinn's head falls in her hands and she lets out a long suffering sigh. " _Why_ … is it illegal?"

"The only people that should be headed for the Grand Line are pirates, Marine Officers with the clearance, or Marine-affiliated ships. Navigators have to pass a test an' everything. And, if you're a pirate," he gives her a narrowed eye look that she doesn't react to, "then it's no skin off my back whether you go in without one or not."

"Wow. You're such a noble citizen. Not at all psychotic."

She says. Sarcastically.

"I'm this close to calling security-"

"I'm going! I'm going!" She throws up her hands and stalks out of the shop, grumbling under her breath and arms crossed over her chest. "This is such bullshit. Kat, I'll be waiting outside while you pick out what you need."

He gives her a thumbs up in lieu of saying anything, looking back and forth between her and the shop keep and buried in a section of shelves that carry tools that look too complicated for her to use without hurting her hands. He's definitely trying to avoid eye contact with the both of them- not liking the confrontation and biting his tongue as the arguing had started to get a little out of hand.

Quinn's too pissed to care.

They can't leave unless they have a damn Log Pose!

The Nav-o'war turned out to be a small building shaped like a half buried ship, connected to a large building that Quinn recognized as being The Sea Museum. It was a nice shop, or it would be, if it wasn't completely useless. Hell, even Kat had gone in and immediately noted that the supplies he needed were way more expensive than they should be.

He hops back out and lands in a puddle, splashing.

"Get what you need?"

"I mean… _enough_ of it…"

Yeah. With the explanation that the shop keep gave, she was willing to bet that all the good shit was reserved specifically for the Marines at a much cheaper price. She felt like she was being screwed from the moment she went into that place. Whatever, no use whining. "C'mon. The museum's free today, so we got lucky with that. Devil Fruit coming in clutch, huh?"

"We-" Quinn pauses when Kat doesn't move to follow, looking shy. "We don't have to if you don't want to, you know? If you're just forcin' yourself then-"

"Oh, shut it and hurry up." Words aside, it's said rather nicely, but she's still surprised to see Kat blush and tentatively trail after her. "Haven't been to a museum in years besides…"

The Sea Museum turns out to be a three-story building with giant skeletons of what Quinn recognizes as Sea King's and other monolithic beastial bodies of creatures she really, really never wanted to meet and Kat is-

Kat is almost squealing as he rushes around and she chortles as he runs over some guy flirting with the girl working the gift shop. And, unaware of the man, preparing to chase after him and give him a piece of his mind, Quinn steps in and shoves an elbow into the guys side, glaring hard enough that he whimpers, clutching at his side before running off.

"I'm… not that scary, am I?"

That was- definitely starting to get confusing. A little concerning actually. 'Cause she'd certainly never been able to do that before One Piece so what's changed?

"Quinn, Quinn! It says that there's a shell collection," Kat interrupts her thoughts, bouncing on his feet, "y-you think they might have any Esse shells?"

"Maybe, who knows."

They don't as it turns out. Much to Kat's disappointment, but they do have a display with pictures of conch-like shells and other species drawn out and a short description that's vague enough that it says basically nothing: _Esse Shells. Mysterious shell-like living creatures found over the world that release odd sounds and potentially cause trouble when in contact with the are said to carry the "essence" of life, where they derive their name from. If found, shells must be turned over to the Marine's and/or Government to be researched by trusted scientists dedicated to discovering the mysteries within;_ and-

Kat blinks up at the pictures, eyes suddenly wet, and rubs at his face. "They don't do them justice… you know?" His eyes have noticeably softened.

"Well, it is a drawing."

"Heh. Yeah, but they could have at least added glitter or somethin'."

She laughed, especially when that got them a side eye from an employee.

Quinn leaves him to trace over the words and the small display they had featured on his dream once it becomes clear that he's lost in his own thoughts. Taking a look around herself, aside from the Sea King's and other unusual creatures of the same vein, as far as Quinn could tell, it was a normal museum with more than a little Marine propaganda thrown about.

There was even a display on the Grand Line with cartoonishly drawn dead pirates and the title 'Pirates Graveyard' up and about. The description saying nothing more than the general story of Gold Roger on the execution platform and a side note on the One Piece itself before diving into 'woest me' quotes that were obviously public responses from the Marine's.

It's honestly pretty interesting. Especially because of her outsider's outlook, she's sure, as nobody else seems to spare the display much more than a quick once oved- after all, why would they? It's general knowledge, isn't it?

And then she sees it.

Quinn's eyes go wide and she tastes something like hope starting to build.

Because on display, just beyond the Grand Line display, on a small, slowly spinning platform with a mannequin hand mounted to show off the wrist, was a Log Pose. And, interestingly enough, as it spun, the point stayed shakily attracted to some place beyond her sight but what was definitely- definitely towards where she knew Reverse Mountain lay and past it.

Most notably, however, were the snail security cameras in the corner of the walls, pointed directly at the display, where a tourist family was reading the plaque.

_Log Pose. A special compass used by Marines to navigate the Grand Line safely._

_This is not a model so please do not touch._

Quinn glances at Kat, who is non-the-wiser to her suddenly racing thoughts, and she feels her shoulders slump.

"Hey, Kat?"

"Y-Yeah?"

He gives her a puppy eyed look that just _hurts_ and she smiles.

_Shit._

"Once you're done, why don't you go pick out a couple things from the gift shop? Whatever you want. Doesn't matter."

"Really?!"

"Really, really."

She lazily follows after him as he checks out the rest of the museum, though she never goes too far and waves him off as he runs to the upper levels. Waiting for an opportunity to make her move because she was pretty sure that she was only going to get one shot at this and it probably wasn't going to happen before Kat's done enjoying the sights.

Thankfully, though, she spots him inching towards the gift shop just as she sees her glorious opportunity present itself.

Quinn opens her mouth and screams.

"Pirates at the entrance! Pirates at the entrance!"

And the large tourist crowd that had just made its way inside, runs to find a hiding place within the building, knocking into the displays and-

Quinn unhooks the Log Pose from the mannequin as they threaten to overtake her, successfully confusing the security snail, and hurriedly makes her way to where Katsura was standing- clutching a giant, nearly twice his height tiger shark plushie (oh, and quite literal in that aspect as well, an unnatural magenta color with bright blue tiger stripes patterned along its fins and tail) in an adorably cartoonish pirate outfit- and loops it around his wrist with a thin smile as a pair of Marines, one of which looks shockingly familiar with a sword and blue hair, came in to try and make sense of the situation and calm the crowds before dragging him back out the entrance that people were desperate to get away from.

"W-What was that all about-?"

"Oh, just ensuring the success of our journey. Sorry about that." She really is apologetic. It was nice while it lasted. "We have two places left to stop, by the way."

"Um. Okay."

She fixes Ace's hat back on her head from where it had fallen off to hang around her shoulders by its string.

-0-

"That's a cursed sword."

Spice says blankly, unable to quite believe what he's seeing. He may not be someone trained in the way of a katana- they always felt much too small in his hands and he'd wanted to take after his mother instead, ever since he was a child- and he may not be the most… sword-obsessed of swordsmen out there but he definitely knew enough.

Knew enough to say how bad of a fucking idea it was to have a _cursed sword_ , literally known for _murdering people_ that attempting to wield it, on _display._

Well within reach of small children.

"You have the Legendary Kitetsu on display…" He says, disbelief evident. "Like it's a _toy._ "

He could practically feel the bloodlust from here.

"You have it _unsheathed and everything._ "

This… is beyond ignorance.

"My wife forced me to put it up, when I couldn't sell it-" Yes, because no sane person would take it off his hands. "-but with it up like that… I can't even get it back in its sheath to hide it away."

Yes, Spice can definitely see that being a problem. He doesn't even want to step close to it, lest he lose a hand, and, as a chef, his hands were his life's blood.

Still.

He looks around at the cheaper selection of swords and at the money that he has in his pocket for both food and the whetstone that he had come in looking for.

"I want this sword. And a whetstone."

The sword he selects is a simple one of an average price. A tanto with a yellow wrapped handle and a black sheath with yellow diamonds along the length. It's a far cry from the complicated and fanciful designs on the other ones but- compared to those, the blade is well made and has less imperfections to be seen.

"Oh. Let me ring you up then-"

"No."

"H-Huh?"

"It will be free. Both of them."

He sees immediately how the older man's face sours and how he takes it as a threat, even though- Spice rolls his eyes- it isn't. " _Excuse me?_ " The older man is clearly used to the rough sorts of the way he shifts towards an obviously hidden panic button is anything to go by.

Spice points at Kitetsu. "Deal. I sheath the sword, wrap it so it won't open by itself. You give me these two items free."

Spice isn't good at bartering. Not really. But anyone who knew swords, and it was clear this man did even if he was prone to stupid mistakes at the behest of his wife, would see that he was offering up a fair deal and Spice's voice left no room for argument. He was practically telling him what was going to happen.

After all, his business would surely be ruined if the wrong person took a look at Kitetsu and ended up losing a hand or more. An ignorant person knowledgeable only in the building of swords and not in _listening_ to them… they would surely find themselves on the wrong end of the blade sooner or later.

The man knows he hasn't got much of a choice, shoulders slumping. "With that broadsword of yours, what do you even need a tanto for? And it's much too small for a man of your stature."

He'd purposely chosen one of the much smaller ones available. Only sixteen inches. Not even close to double the size of a ruler.

"Someone I know wants to get stronger. She is a... small person." A blatant lie, she was taller than a majority of woman he's met before, but he couldn't help himself even if she wasn't here.

Truthfully, Spice didn't know what to make of Quinn. He was very much a man that respected strength and Quinn… had not shown much of that. Not really. And so he felt in an odd sort of limbo because he knew that Ace trusted her to have his back, much more so than he did Spice considering the difference in time knowing each other, but Spice wasn't entirely sure if that trust was warranted.

And he was entirely aware that he was in no position to make a judgement call like that. Lest he be accused of mutiny.

He had seen her give orders and he had followed them and they'd turned out alright- this morning, for example, where he had almost said nothing just to see what she would do before deciding that was unfair of him to do- and he had seen her on the edges of fights but never directly involved in confrontation… It didn't paint a picture that he was exactly happy with. Especially considering she'd come out with injury while no one else sustained any damage whatsoever.

Fragile, he decided. But more like a vase with a solid inside. The outside would chip and break and crack but the insides would either stay packed together firmly or loosely spill outside as a result. It was just a matter of which one she would be.

Spice… had trouble believing, based off of what he'd seen, that Quinn had killed the Mime, even though the rumors and reports he'd gotten from his home island had confirmed it. Of people having seen the Mime stabbed to death and Quinn picking up a knife from the remains, _her_ knife- but, if it was true, as it most likely was, it had him wondering why she claimed no credit or even mentioned it. To her, it seemed as if she was acting as if the Mime had been nothing more than a figment of her imagination. Even though he clearly wasn't.

Still.

There was something to respect in a firm desire to get stronger, one that she was obviously intent on if her beatings from Ace were anything to go by. It was clear she wasn't learning much from that method of teaching other than instincts- someone like her, definitely required more finesse than what Ace could offer.

"She is too awkward for a… proper sword." He says 'proper' eyeing the katana's. He could see in the way she held herself that it would take years upon years for her to even grasp the basics. And he could just imagine her stiffly swinging the sword with no real understanding of what she was doing. She likely didn't even have the muscle capacity at the moment to wield an actual katana for long. "But a tanto may be more up her alley."

Quinn did seem rather attached to her knife actually. It was a small one though, and shouldn't be used for much more than to cut ropes or brutally murdering someone out of desperation- A tanto should at least grant her more options and a bit more range if nothing else.

Though part of Spice didn't hold out much hope for her.

"Well, Kitetsu then?"

Right. The whole point of the deal.

He has to admit, he'd never figured he'd be handling a cursed sword and he pitied the fool that would leave the shop with the sword on his hip eventually. The shop keep definitely didn't want it around if the look on his face was anything to go by.

Spice grasps its handle.

A lesser man would stumble back from the sheer bloodlust permeating the room and it may have just been his imagination but he's pretty sure it had just grown a tad darker. A pause, a second, he eyes the stand that the sword rests on and the deep gouges that cut into it without his intent and scowls.

"A sword should only cut if the one wielding it wills it so." He growls. _"Submit."_

It was foolish of him to leave the sword out like this.

The amount of people walking by day-in and day-out, it only worsened the damn things attitude, and he wouldn't be surprised if people had been walking away with shallow cuts that they couldn't explain.

A quick motion as something in the sword tempers for just a second and he's sheathed it, unbloodied.

"Bring me a long cloth."

The shop keep scrambles to follow his orders and comes back out with- "Will this do?" It's a dark green satin strip. And with nimble fingers Spice wraps from the middle of the sheath, upwards.

"Pull here and it will unwrap. If you do, keep the cloth with it. Don't want to have the curse taint it and then mix it in with the rest of your stock, that's just bad preparation." The shop keep nods up at him numbly and Spice raises a brow. "Is that all then?"

And when he receives nothing but a flabbergasted expression, he collects his free items and steps out of the shop. Letting a low hiss fall past his lips as he glances down at his forearm where a long shallow cut had appeared. Not enough to even bleed but just enough to sting and likely scab over later.

He sniffed.

"Wonder what Quinn and Kat are up to…"

...

...

"How long will a touch up take?"

"Your looking at an hour, maybe two. Takes that long for the dye to set and then we have to make sure everything came out right- matching colors is harder than just re-dying the whole thing…"

"Match the color."

"Yeah, yeah."

Quinn turns on heel to go sit on a waiting bench where Kat was snuggling his new shark plushie, legs wrapped around it and cheeks puffed out in a pout. "Seriously, I'm sorry about cutting the museum visit short…"

"It's not that. I could've helped you!"

"Yeah, I know, but I didn't want to completely ruin the visit." Quinn slumps back. "And you got the shark here for free! Silver lining."

"It wouldn't have ruined it…"

He pouts.

"I _like_ doing stuff with you guys."

They sit in silence.

Only slightly aware of how comical they look with a giant shark plushie smiling in one of their arms while they both frowned and pointedly didn't look at each other.

"...You gonna name it?"

"...I don't I?"

"I don't see why not."

"What about- Garfield?"

"Like the lasagna cat?"

_"What."_

"What."

...

...

Probably nothing important.

Spice sighs and pulls out his journal- the one specific to the crews' nutritional needs that he'd taken care to keep out of sight- and the list of supplies he'd made for an extended journey like Quinn had suggested. They already had quite a bit of it but one could never have too much backup food in storage-

Overpreparedness is what saved people trapped on the high seas after all.

Now… where to get the best deals?

-0-

"One last stop? What else do we need?"

Kat follows behind Quinn as she hops between rocks to avoid the puddles beginning to form from the drizzle. His new plushie- belovedly named Lasagna, if only for the sheer ridiculousness- and subsequent new pillow, because there was no doubt in Kat's mind that he was going to spend his nights hugging the shit out of it, shoved over one shoulder and still- _still_ it was close to dragging on the ground. If not the head, then the tail. It was practice in balancing.

"Oh, I just asked at the other shop, if they had them here- cause, apparently, they're not in high enough demand to be in non-commercial islands." Quinn, and Kat really does know where she had gone to even get it, slurps at a cold coffee through a bright green straw. When he shoots her a raised brow, she seems to realize that she's being vague. "Binders. The two you have are obviously not fitted properly and two is not enough in my humble opinion."

She seems to blink, then winces.

"That's… right, yes? I'm not sounding rich here? Having two is good but like- That would mean either washing a lot or wearing one multiple days and that's-"

Kat shakes his head. "No, that doesn't sound rich." And then what she says catches up to him and he beams with a giddiness that's absolutely _sunny._ "You asked? For _me_?"

"Yeah. That one you were wearing- back on the Twin Isle's, you know? That was definitely, definitely too small for you. Hurt as you were it was compressing way too much to be normal." Quinn's brow furrows. "At least, I'm pretty sure, I'm not like an expert or anything."

Yeah, he'd known that, but it was nice that someone else was pointing it out.

Had paid attention enough to notice.

The shop is a bit hidden, a back alley building in the shadow of another and they definitely get some disgusted looks but none of that matters- not really. Not as Kat preens under the bored but thoughtful help of Quinn and-

He runs his tongue over his lips. They're a bit chapped and cracked and the action has them stinging a little. "I, uh… I, uh."

"Would have suffered in silence if you hadn't brought it up? Yes, yes I know." Quinn slurps and successfully announces their presence to the clothing store- it's mixed with accessories and wigs and makeup sections as well but there's a section in the back that reads Bras, Bindings, and Binders on an old sign with faded bright colors that has his eye catching and-

_They have binders in tie dye._

He completely jumps over the muted colors and skin toned ones. Unaware that it has Quinn shaking her head in amusement. "I may be a hypocrite here, but you should take care of yourself better."

"I mean, you take care of yourself, don't you?"

Quinn's turned away so he really doesn't see the face she makes. Somewhere caught between a grimace and like she'd tasted something sour. "Sure!" She doesn't think her voice cracked there.

"But, uh-" Kat licks his lips instead of biting his tongue, he's a bundle of nerves but he doesn't want to cut off his speech, "Thanks. Really." He's emphatic. Or trying to be, but he's not sure how much comes across and it doesn't help that Quinn shifts and looks away, trying to wave it off. He doesn't think she's really comfortable with the- thanks. "You- Thank you." He says it anyway.

"No problem."

She answers stiffly, awkwardly, and so Kat stops. Because she's clearly not sure what to respond with but, when he does shoot her a smile as he picks through the colorful selections, she smiles back. Before turning to an employee about bracelets that apparently double as one-time emergency flotation devices and collects several with gleaming, triumphant eyes and-

Kat heads into the changing rooms, back to the mirror as he slips on a different binder to try and find the size that suits him. It, thankfully, doesn't take very long and he discovers quickly that he was nearly two sizes off and, wow, no wonder it had started to feel like his ribs were going to break while wearing them. "Ooh, boy-" He only finds the confidence in himself to turn around to face the mirror once he's found one that fits, trying to ignore the churning in his stomach that always seems to come when he can see himself clearly. "Hnm."

Kat- He can't help it. But his hands draw up to his face and his fingers run across the torn about scars dug along his gils. Or help the disgust at the sight of green, _green, green_ and wet shades of non-human skin that has his teeth hanging achingly close to the tip of his tongue.

He only just stops himself from biting down.

Tries to focus on the swirling, clashing patterns of tie dye and colors that shouldn't be mixed outside of psychedelic trips and-

(Kat turns away from the mirror. He's happy. He… really is. But he'd never liked looking at his reflection.)

-Kat knows that he's… _cute_. He's got a bit of a baby-ish face and no matter how much he works out his shoulders and arms, he still hasn't been able to get them broad enough. Not like Ace and certainly not like Spice. And he distracts himself from thoughts of frustrated jealousy over them and things they can't even control or know that they're, compared to him, lucky to have.

Kat doesn't mind being cute, in fact, most of the time he enjoys it.

But he-

He doesn't like the connotations that come with it.

(The too long eyelashes, the hips, the curve of a jawline-)

And the lack of choice he has.

(-the things that seem to scream he's something that he's not.)

His teeth snatch around his tongue, press down, but don't quite cause him to bleed. Not yet.

Kat likes long hair, likes bright colors and feminine-leaning things but he- he can choose those things for himself, if he wants. It's the things outside of his control- the ones that really catch people's eyes and have them looking twice when they shouldn't- that have his fists clenching and him unable to look and- "How many can I get, Quinn?!" He calls, trying to stomp down the high-pitched tilt of his voice that has him grimacing, and waits for Quinn to reply back.

It takes a second and she's noticeably further away than she was before.

"However many you think you need."

He collects more than he probably should and- he knows he's pushing their budget, probably, and his luck and Quinn's kindness with the amount but it's- it's something he can control when everything seems to be so hard to sometimes and something tells him that he thinks Quinn will be understanding because she has been so far and he- hopes, beyond hope, that she always will be.

She doesn't even seem to notice.

Kat's smile softens and he can't help the flush as he clutches the items to his chest like they're a lifeline.

Doesn't acknowledge the collection as she fiddles with bracelets upon bracelets stacked on her wrists. Red and white stripes, with a small, hidden switch to flip- one time inflatable rings that Quinn had the employee test for her before buying the lot essentially. "I'm gonna have to sneak some of these to Ace," she mutters, "I know he doesn't want anything from this island but these are… _awesome_ for Devil Fruit users. Maybe I can convince him I bought them somewhere else if I hide them?"

"Well, to be fair, I'll be there to catch you both if you ever fall in!"

She laughs, "Oh, I know that, Kat." And the confidence in him has his head ducking and his cheeks flaming because she says it without a single doubt in her mind. "But what if we're without you? You can't be everywhere at once." She opens the door for him as he stalks out the shop. "Let's head back. I'm sure Ace misses his crown."

-0-

Ace lays back, eyes closed, and lets the rain drip over him without a care to even acknowledge it. There's a flicker of flames here and there, a warmth of red and glowing, before it sputters out at his command instead of weakening to the falling droplets. Quinn was right, he was definitely building up a degree of immunity to the weather, because the more he waited for something to hit, the more he started to feel it sizzle and disappear just as it made contact. Not even leaving a mark and not staying long enough that, if someone took a shot at him, that it would leave anything behind but intangible fire.

He doesn't know how to describe it in a way that makes sense, but Ace feels like a pan above fire. Like he's slowly sizzling flames and heated metal and whatever touches him- whatever goes in the pan- is just waiting to be cooked in response. Theoretically, he thinks he's going to be able to produce enough heat that the rain won't even touch him anymore, that water will evaporate before it even gets close, and he can definitely see himself already building up to it.

Oh, Ace can throw it around all he wants, could probably burn the entire island down if he really wanted to, but he's smart enough to realize that all that meant nothing if he didn't have control. A finite handle on details because, truth be told, Ace wouldn't- couldn't- describe his current powers as being "battle-ready".

(Garp would have beat his ass after laughing at him if he even thought for a moment that he was anything but a, now literal, hothead.)

Still. The power is… incredible.

"-head over to the scaffold that they executed-"

"-heard it's quite the sight to behold! Wish I was there to-"

But it doesn't help the churning in the pit of his stomach.

His scowl stretches further across his face and his brows twitch downward into angry lines.

There was one thing he learned from coming to this damned island though. That his fruit powers were somewhat connected to his emotions-

Because he'd never been able to get his flames this hot _before_ and he's absolutely fuckin' pissed beyond belief right now. More than he has been in a good while.

He wants to punch something.

Someone.

"-oh, just imagine it on the day itself, the Pirate King's death must've been a sight to behold! It would've been such a triumph for the Marines if that _monster_ of a man hadn't ruined the world with his talk of treasure."

_Ace wants to burn this island to the ground._

He doesn't.

Instead, he snaps his eyes open, sits up, and tosses an arm over a knee, glaring once at the land laid before him before looking out to sea with a more… neutral expression. Though anyone that knew him could see the sourness in it.

A part of him wonders why Quinn had stolen his hat, 'cause he wouldn't mind tugging the brim down to cover his face and it's almost uncomfortable without its familiar weight, frankly it feels like he's forgetting something, and, on more than one occasion, he's caught his hands going up to grab it before realizing it's gone and running a frustrated hand through his hair. The water that manages to hang around long enough on his super-heated skin gets into his eyes and certainly doesn't help matters. There's another part of him that straight up doesn't care and another that's just so pent up with raw anger, frustration, and that _bothersome itch_ that this island is giving him in the back of his head that's driving him so far up the wall that he can't even think straight on anything anymore.

He doesn't like this place.

In fact, he hates it.

He'd never planned to stop here. In fact, if it wasn't for Quinn's assistance and her assurance that it was a necessary stop to being able to access the Grand Line, at least to her knowledge, then he would've been more than content to straight up ignore it.

Even now. Something in him is wondering if the Grand Line is even worth it, but that one receives a scoff and another pointed- glaring- glance towards the island. Towards _Loguetown._

"Tch."

Ace isn't good enough at his own emotions to pinpoint exactly what he's feeling.

Never has been.

Probably never will be. Grasping them is one thing, understanding is another.

Which is why it's getting to be so hard _not_ to lash out. Because, for a long time, to the point where it's become all but ingrained, strong emotions swirling in his gut and building frustration only lead to him throwing hands or destroying something and it'd never been a habit he was hard pressed to break either. Almost encouraged, actually, if he was being honest.

But there's nothing to break, nothing to distract, and Ace just wants to leave and never look back on this place again.

Ironically, if it wasn't for his glower and the almost tangible aura he was giving off, it was very likely that Ace would've gotten his wish for a distraction. There were all sorts of pirates, petty criminals, and gangs on the edges of Loguetown that a ship with only one man left to guard it was bound to get jumped. Smoker had only been around for so long and he hadn't managed to clean up the city as much as he would've liked just yet- much too busy also kicking his Marines into proper shape.

(This is also what keeps a certain Bartolomeo from taking an interest. Because he was an experienced man and he knew when to not mess with someone out of his league.)

(Ace is scary.)

Loguetown is a place that feels like it's stuck in time. It feels like a frozen moment that's lingering in the back of his head, screaming at him, a thought of what could've been and what ended. A bygone era where _he_ didn't matter because he didn't exist and then, all of a sudden, it was as if he was the only thing that mattered in the world. A remnant of something long gone and something wanted gone.

And it's a knowledge that only he is privy to.

Because this is an island where the world once stood still watching and listening and Ace- _Ace hates it._ It's a conflicting feeling because part of him curls in a cruel triumph over the death of _that man_ but another, traitorous, part whispers and urges him to take a step onto the cobbled roads. To see that scaffolding, that execution platform, that place where disgusting blood so similar to his own spilled over the pavement and spelled doom and stories of grandeur long faded. And wonders if there would be any relief in the sight. Any sadness. Any anger. Any joy. He doesn't want to entertain that part of himself.

Ace is…

Ace is just tired.

He's exhausted, really.

There's a pitter of water and he flinches at a sudden burst of flames and quickly pats it down. He's sat on the railing of the ship now- dangerously close to a watery grave, especially if his narcolepsy hit, and something in him laughs and challenges it, _dares_ it to see him fall; it sits uneasy in the pit of his stomach and tastes like bitter burning in the back of his constricting throat before he swallows and blinks and refuses to even bring himself to care- he doesn't remember moving, but he dangles a foot into the sea, shoes kicked off behind him. Just below where the sea would begin to sap at his energy and begin its tug into the depths. It's funny. That he would love the sea like he did and now knows that it would spell his doom if he should ever step into it- he'd always been vaguely fascinated by Luffy's own love for the ocean and had wondered how he could still love it when it could be so… pointedly cruel to him. That it would specifically go out of his way to drown him.

Ace gets it now though. It… wouldn't be the worst place to die.

A sick part of him hopes that it will kill him- that he will fall to its depths and watch the beauty of the world fade into nothing but the darkness he deserves and he would go silently, secretly, with none the wiser to the blood that runs through his veins and no one to notice.

Even now, he sits and wonders if anyone knows.

If anyone behind him who had seen the Pirate King and seen his blood spill, would notice the similarities. Would see his hair, his jaw, the shape of his eyes and nose, and recognize him for who he was. A demon, a monster hiding among the general populace. Undeserving of life.

(Ace had never really understood people who had wanted to live forever. It was… He was almost disgusted by the notion.

When someone like him, who didn't deserve a single day, got to steal and enjoy one- then another, and another- he couldn't imagine it. Living forever. When people like Sabo who had been taken too early didn't get the days that he did… He felt like a fraud. Like a joke. And he was just waiting for the day where he would see it end.

If it was possible to trade, Ace would in an instant. He'd trade every single one of his days, moments with Luffy, with his crew, for Sabo to have them instead.)

It's where his thoughts drift and he can't help it, even if he wants to, wants to stomp down the sick feeling that keeps popping up and making him want to scream, because there is something disgustingly cruel about the world that it would give him a chance to breathe his first breath. That his mother would love him against the world and something in him sobs at the thought of the life he'd sucked from her- the life he'd taken- and the disgust she must have felt when she had held him. Realizing the mistake she'd made and too late to take it back.

(It was a story that Garp had shared with him when he had first asked about his parents and one that had always stuck with Ace. It was one that he couldn't help but think about late into the night. One that makes him love her, love his mother and all that she did for him, and hate himself for all he greedily stole from her.

He doesn't deserve to share her name, he knows.

But Ace is nothing if not selfish. Disgustingly selfish and greedy and horrible. It's in his blood after all.)

Loguetown was drawing up reminders that he doesn't need- because he knows, _god_ , does he know already- and he just feels so-

There's a feeling of dread. And his heart beats in his ears, throbbing and erratic pounding that feels like it causes his whole body to shake with the sheer force behind it, but he can't hear it. It feels like there's something simultaneously muffling it and he wonders if he really did fall into the water 'cause it feels like he's drowning and-

"Ace?"

The feeling turns to ice in his stomach and he freezes.

"You're… awfully close to the edge there," Quinn says, and either she's saying it softly or he's still muffled behind that barrier, "and without supervision." There's an edge to her words. And he turns even icier in response to it.

Because- _she knows! She knows! **She knows!**_

Knows what? He's not exactly sure.

But his heart stutters in his chest and he feels like he'd been caught. Caught doing something he'd never wanted another to find out and- he registers her hand sliding from the top of his head, where she had first placed it, and drags through his hair before finding the base of his neck and- He flinches as her fingers pinch and his shoulders instinctually go up to try and shove her off and he whips around to- Quinn's hands drag him from the railing until he's standing back on deck. And he's making excuses for something but can't quite compute for what, or why, "I wasn't doing anything! I was just sitting and- and-"

"I know that."

She says quietly. Softly.

(Quinn almost asks: "Do you?" But bites her lip to stop herself.)

And he looks up at her searchingly- (Huh. Has he gotten taller? Because he thinks they're the same height now.) -and sees something hard in her gaze that has him flinching back a step. But then her gaze flickers and the subject changes and it has his stomach unclenching and the ice slowly beginning to melt, even if she says it softer than she should. Almost like speaking to a deer. Like she half expects him to run off if she speaks too quickly or says the wrong thing and Ace… can't exactly _deny_ that assumption. "Kat and I just got back. He's putting his stuff away. We got clothes, a Log Pose, some navigation supplies." She lists simply and the ice melts further. "And I brought your hat back. Better than it was. You mentioned you wanted to get the faded parts dyed, right?"

He blinks, slowly. "Yeah. You- You suggested it, remember?"

"'Course."

She pulls his hat from her head and places it in his awaiting hands that he hadn't even realized he'd held up. It's almost a struggle to pull his gaze away from her as he looks down to see the fixed areas and he's vaguely aware of Quinn turning on heel and walking away, giving him space.

He doesn't know how long he ends up standing there, running his hands over his hat and the fabric and thread that makes it up. A lot of things had changed, for the better, and he can't help the small quirk of his lips.

There's a shout- "Hey, if you all are done being lazy, I have groceries for you to bring up!" -and Spice hops onto the ship with a large cart of bags dragged behind him.

"Comin', comin'!"

Ace smirks. (And shoves, _shoves, shoves_ down his disgust and second-thoughts and hatred to be ignored for later. He doesn't want it right now. Doesn't need it and definitely doesn't want Quinn to see anymore than she already had.) "Hey, hey, what'dya get? It's almost time for dinner-"

"-of course, that's where your head goes first." Spice flicks him on the forehead. "You said you like spicy foods, huh? I'll see what I can do."

Kat groaned. "Not too spicy. You guys are crazy with that!"

"Nah, you just can't handle _flavor_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter will be the last chapter in the East Blue! And will also be very short.


	18. Reverse Mountain I: Adventure Awaits! Rise To The Next Ocean!

Careful. Careful.

He licks his lips and, even if he'd noticed, he would have been unable to keep his tongue from sticking out in concentration. It'd taken a while to figure out what boards creaked and where, and then even more time to get used to them, but he'd eventually gotten it down. Now, all he had to do was stay low, stay focused; like a tiger on the prowl. He was crouched, hands pulled down to keep his balance, and his target- his victim!- didn't even glance his way as he kept them inside his gaze. _Good._ He inched a bit forward, eyes narrowed into slits-

Closer. Closer.

-he let his weight fall back, feet prepared to push off the ground and launch himself to-!

"I sure hope you're not doing what I think you're doing."

He flops down on her bed. Groaning. Head face down into the pillows and blankets that were tossed to the side of her, "Mnff-mff-hnnff~!" He whined, muffled into the mess of bedding. "Quihhhhnnff-!"

"Kehaha! What's up with you? You've been happy ever since we left Loguetown, complete mood switch." She can't help but point it out, even if she could make a pretty damn good guess as to why, and she doesn't expect an answer confirming that guess anyways. Ace twitches, turning to shoot her a cheeky grin, face still half buried in her bed sheets and blankets. "C'mon, Ace." She huffed. "You're going to knock the books free from down below if you keep sitting like that."

He just pushed himself up even more onto her bed. Flopping like a starfish onto everything and almost fully covering the majority of it with his body now. Well, all of him except his boots but at least it wasn't his knees tucked down below anymore, where they would've been shoved into the shelves of books beneath and been crushing them up, she's sure. Quinn scoots over, trying to make more room for him, even if it has her nearing the edge and close to falling off, pajamas smooshing up and twisting around her limbs.

They'd decided to weigh the anchor for the night. Reverse Mountain had taken longer to locate than she'd expected for a _giant mountain_ but the sight of it had just been on the horizon before the sun had started to drift beneath the sea. The mountainous cape was a couple hours from Loguetown and she didn't know about the others but she sure as shit didn't want to have their first jump into the Grand Line be in the middle of the night, it would already be hard enough navigating the canal by the day.

Problem was, though, it wasn't _quite_ late enough that anyone wanted to go to sleep yet.

Especially not Ace.

"What's up?"

"Nothin'."

It came out sounding more like 'muffin' but she got the idea, she was pretty sure some of the blanket got in his mouth anyways, and it was clear that he was very irritated that 'muffin' was happening.

"Mn-hm. So, you're bored."

He spat out the blanket.

"Yep."

"And so you're bothering me. While I'm working. A not-bored person."

"...Yes."

She sighs but it doesn't stop her from shooting him a tiredly, amused glance. The large black sheet that she held in her lap, contrasted by the white thread and silver needle that she tugged through and then back again and then once more, was her work in question. Embroidery, once again, something to keep her hands and mind busy so she could keep her thoughts from wandering out of control in the quiet.

And, well, it helped that this particular piece was a request from the Captain himself and who was she to refuse him?

Ace leaned over in eager interest. "How's it coming along? You said you were almost done, yeah?"

It'd been weeks since he'd asked her, so she understood his impatience a little, even if he had little clue as to how long a project this big should have taken her. (Oh, if it wasn't for the fact that it was one of her only options of something to do while on the ship it would've taken her months and months of endless hours. Now, though? Only a couple weeks of smashed together hours and hours and a concentrated focus born of having nothing else happening in her life.) She'd started some time after the Twin Isle, thankful that her injured arm wasn't her dominant hand and that she could still manage something like this, and he'd shown off his hat's newest flames as an example for what he wanted. Looking starry eyed and positively beaming at her.

"Close. Should have it done before we set sail tomorrow morning." She pauses, then grimaces. "No promises though. I'm just going over the tiniest of details right now, fixing up mistakes, but it's finicky and… I don't really know how long it's going to take until I'm satisfied with it." It was one thing to make something that others enjoyed, it was another to make something that would also please her- she held herself to an incredibly high standard when it came to her work.

"Cool."

And, so bored he was, that Ace found himself just snuggling closer into the blankets and staring at her from the corner of his eye. Gaze objectively lazy as they roamed over Quinn and drank in the sight of her.

Her brows were furrowed downwards in a look of total concentration, almost glaring at the fabric in her hands. And her hair was done up in a messy bun that was bound to leave tangles, still wet from a recent shower, and was pressed up flat against her forehead, dripping droplets of water down and all the way to the tip of her nose. There was an extra needle in the corner of her mouth, hanging easily from the edge of her lip, attached with a piece of bright yellow thread to another section of the black sheet that covered her legs almost entirely. Every now and then, she would pause, flip to look at the underneath, and then switch between the colors she was using in some way that he was sure made sense to only her because it was almost mind-boggling watching the way she worked and he couldn't begin to guess as to why she made the decisions she did with it. Given the slight glint of frustration beginning to show on her face though and based on the hunch of her shoulders he thinks Quinn is the perfectionist type. Constantly double-checking and then triple-checking something he couldn't see, which was fine, it just made her all the better; working at a slow and methodical pace that only seemed to grow slower as she looks back and seems to just stare before making a decision for a singular stitch, taking almost a minute on each and it's awesome watching- her able to do something he had no hope of grasping because he was sure it would only have him even more bored out of his mind.

But Ace was too busy to really think about that. Too busy dragging his gaze from her cast that she was still forced to wear, though she'd said the instructions had said she could take it off soon and replace it with a simple brace instead, and instead lets his eyes travel back up to the scrunch of her face. From the crease of her forehead, to the odd dots on her earlobes where she'd clearly once had them pierced and then let them heal back over, and the scars that marred her bottom lip from all her biting on it. The more he stared, the more he saw.

Ace's eyes lingered, drawn to a detail he knew he hadn't seen yet, on the back of her neck, towards the base and a little to the side. A place where her hair normally fell to cover and, without really thinking, he blurts, "You have a scar on the back of your neck."

"Do I?" She murmurs absentmindedly, not really listening, and it takes a solid second for the information to compute with her brain and, when it does, it has her pausing. "Wait-" Her brows furrow and she whips her head to stare down at him, needle flicking awkwardly between her lips. "No, I don't. What?"

"You do."

If anything, that seems to confuse her more. "...No?" Her hand, the one that had been working, lets go of it's needle and reaches upwards to search for the scar. "Where?"

He grunts, pushing himself up onto his elbows and reaches to pull her hand to the jagged, slightly discolored patch of skin that looks… odd. He couldn't honestly say whether it was from a knife, shrapnel, or anything else like that. It was a bursting jagged mark, one that seemed to explode almost outward and it was clearly a couple of months old at the very least. There was a faltering moment as Quinn's fingers twitched and searched for what he was talking about before her fingers slide along it's outer edge, finally noticing the differences in texture-

If Ace hadn't been actively watching her as closely as he already was, he wouldn't have noticed it.

Quinn pales. It's a sudden whitening of her cheeks that seems to suck any and every semblance of color from her. Her hand grips the area and grinds into where it marred her skin, pupils contracting before her lips fall open with a soft, but heartfelt: _"...oh."_

"What's it from?" He asks. Quinn seems more than a little shell shocked by its discovery. "...Quinn?"

She bites her bottom lip, breaking open some of the fresher scabs and he winces. He doesn't know how she could stand the pain of doing that. She shakes her head, as if getting rid of her own thoughts, and shakily- his gaze twitches at the sight of her fingers shaking, as if from cold prickling needling itself into her skin before she let the appendage fall back to the needle she'd dropped. "Nothing important." His gut instinct is to say that it's a lie. The more intuitive part of his brain, though, realizes that it isn't. It's clearly something that _she_ doesn't think is important but something tells him that he would find it _very, very important._ "I just- I just didn't realize that it had left a scar."

Ace stares.

Waits for any sort of clarification but there's none so he says nothing. Lets the subject drop and lull away into nothing. And he flops back down, removing his eyes from her almost forcibly. It's a good decision, really, because it's what has her relaxing minutely, trying to go back to her embroidery with a distracted fervor but oh- Her luck is terrible, because, this time, she doesn't find anything that needs to be fixed or added to. It was as if she had finished everything just in time for her to want to do more and she- she knows better to overwork it.

She startles when a foot launches out and kicks Ace for his efforts. "Hey-!"

"What did you _do_?"

Kat, fresh from his own shower, and absolutely drenched with water from head to toe, was looking more than a little suspicious as he stared down at Ace. Lips pursed and hands on his hips and towel, wrapped around his hair, falling into his face and completely detracting any sense of intimidation he was going for.

Ace raises his hands, rolling onto his back. "Nothing!" Kat's eyes narrow.. "Seriously- nothing, nothing."

Quinn smirks and teary, she lies: "Oh, he told me all sorts of horrible, horrible things."

And Kat huffs, knowing when he was being messed with.

Ace gapes. "Hey, what is this?" Kat still jabs him with his foot for good measure. "Aa! I'm the Captain- hey - _mutiny!_ Mutiny! Spice, save me."

Spice doesn't even glance up from his writing. "Uh-huh. Sure. Fishcakes, tomorrow? Yeah I can do that." Clearly not listening to any of them either.

Kat blushes. "I'm j-just making sure th-that you're not causing Quinn any trouble!"

"Why would I be causing her any trouble?!"

Quinn giggles.

Ace sputters and then grumbles, wrapping the blankets around himself. "Like _she_ needs anyone to protect her."

"The confidence in me is sweet, Ace-"

"-if unfounded." Spice adds in. As if coming out of his "slumber" just to roast her. Ah, with him around, at least she'd never have to worry about getting a big head. And she's quick to nod along with a 'yeah' under her breath that has both Ace and Kat sharing an unimpressed glance, brows raised and disbelief evident to only each other.

Quinn doesn't notice Spice's displeased frown either. As if irritated by her agreement.

"But shouldn't you all be heading to bed by now? You want an early start to tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, but I'm not ti~red!"

There's something that's gotten them all excited- and it's obvious what it is. The pent up energy only seems to grow with how close they are to Reverse Mountain and the Grand Line's entrance and the "next big adventure" and she can see it hidden on all their faces, a quiet thrum that's jittery and one that's she's sure is somewhere on her own face too. It would be enough to have anyone struggling to sleep, after all, and the night presses on and it's no surprise that none of them move to shut off the lantern-like light fixtures that keep out the darkness.

Spice is busy working on… well, Quinn wants to guess that it's the cook book he mentioned on wanting to compile but she's pretty sure that he hasn't found anything really… new to add to it so she's not sure about that either. She just knows that involves a ton of writing and that she can't hardly read a word of it because he's still using the _godforsaken yellow pen._

(She's eighty percent sure he's a masochist based off of that fact alone.)

Kat, meanwhile, once he's done huffing at Ace, drops into his hammock and soon looks to be the closest to sleep out of all of them. He's watching the Log Pose on his wrist, eyes firmly caught on the shaky needle but anyone watching could see the way his head bobbed and his eyes seemed to grow heavy with every passing second and each blink was a struggle to force his eyes back open.

And Ace-

Ace is still flopped down right next to Quinn. Sure, he's on his back now, and his hat twirls on his finger, unable to sleep even if he wanted to. Which is both a mix of his excitement and symptoms of his narcolepsy being a bitch. His eyes burn and he blinks, blowing a raspberry at the ceiling. He feels wide awake, like he'd chugged a gallon of Quinn's disgusting coffee, because he can't wait for morning to come and the minutes only seem to grow longer and longer.

It was just… They were so, so close.

To where their journey could finally, actually, begin because, making it to the Grand Line… that was just the starting point of the real adventure. They were headed to the summit of the world and he'd hardly taken even the first steps forwards towards it.

There's a snap of thread being broken and the sound draws Ace back to looking at Quinn, eyes only catching sight of the scar for a second before he pulls it away, as she tosses the black fabric over them both and lifts it so that he can see the painted image on the front and the thread and patterns she'd woven over the bright colors. "I know you said you wanted it almost entirely embroidered but that would've made it both too heavy and too busy. So, I simplified, added more intricate designs that I've already made sure will look cool from both far away and close up." She bit her lip as, so taken aback by what she'd done, he didn't notice the sudden bout of nervousness from her; almost tentative. "What… What do you think?"

"This…"

He honestly doesn't know what to say.

And his voice noticeably softens as he takes it all in. Unable to help himself from running his hands over the threads, the thick lines and patterns of color that fall in intricate and complicated designs of- Ace grins, excitement palpable by this point. Damned if he was going to be getting any sleep tonight.

"This is… amazing, Quinn. You're absolutely amazing!" He chortles. "It's _incredible!_ "

Screw what he asked her for, this was better than he ever could've imagined!

She smiles. Pulling it back to her lap before gently folding it so she could pack it away in the storage beneath her bed. Ace is still so starry-eyed that he doesn't catch a glimpse of the pink on her cheeks, the embarrassed flush only getting warmer and warmer as he grins sillily at nothing in particular. She bites her lip, though not in a way to draw blood this time, and dips her head in the smallest of nods. "Thank you…"

"And your timing is perfect!" He all but chirps. "We'll be ready to go as a proper crew now!"

"I'll have to add a cover to the back of it still. To hide all the ties and thread showing through on the back, but I can do that in the morning. And, I mean, I have to treat it overnight but otherwise…"

"It's finally done!"

"More or less."

Nothing seems to be able to put a damper on Ace's lifting mood. After Loguetown, he hadn't expected for the day to be getting any better, but hey- it's good to be wrong sometimes.

"Care to share with the class?"

"It's a surprise!" Ace is quick to brush Spice off. He goes so far as to throw a finger over his lips even, but the secretive image is shattered a bit by the wide, cheeky grin spread across his face. "You'll see tomorrow."

Spice snorts.

There's quiet for… _maybe_ ten minutes. And that's a kind estimate where Quinn takes the chance to close her eyes and take a break.

She's abruptly startled out of the rest and nearly bites her own tongue off when Ace jabs her in the side, "Oy, Quinn… I'm bored." He whines.

"What do you want _me_ to do about it?"

"I don't know. Something?"

_"Something."_

But… she supposes he was such a pathetic, pouting sight of nothing to do that she could think for a few seconds. "Alright." She sighs, long and reluctant, "I can do _something._ Come on."

He blinks. As if surprised that he'd actually managed to get anything out of her and just watches as she jumps off the bed, sliding her pajamas into the proper place- it was just lightning bolt patterned pants and a loose t-shirt with her sleeves still underneath, though he's not sure how _those_ counted as pajamas and it was kind of ridiculous the almost religious zeal she took to wearing them-

He'd noticed a couple peoples gazes get drawn to them, grimaces and recognition lighting up their face before morphing into pity and- Ace wasn't stupid. He knew something was up with her and the sleeves, even if he couldn't figure it out for the life of him. But he didn't even know where to begin with asking, or even if he should, and was simply waiting for the day Quinn said something herself or she finally took them off.

"-Are you coming?" Quinn offered him her hand, shaking it at his face impatiently. "Or are you just going to make me stand here?"

"Sorry, yeah."

He let's her pull him up and is surprised when her grip only shifts and she doesn't let go, pulling him along and out the door, onto the deck.

And he-

"Dance?"

It's hard to keep the bit of humor out of his voice.

"It's some _thing_ to do, isn't it?"

He looks dubious. "But… there's no music."

"Sure isn't. But, I mean, it's not like we're workin' on choreography or anything." She tugs him to a place in front of her and they're almost perfectly centered on the deck. "'Sides, you looked like you were having fun last time."

She chews on her lip, then adds, a tad quieter: "You _can_ say no though."

And Ace can't help but wonder if that's actually true because he can just imagine her face swelling in a mix of embarrassment for even suggesting it and disappointment that he hadn't been interested, if he did say no. It was quite the odd sight to imagine and he can't help a soft laugh bubbling up that has her ears bursting into red- He supposes it doesn't really matter. It's late, he's too energetic, and he hasn't got any better ideas and… Well, Quinn is looking up at him with such earnest eyes that he just has to say yes.

"I still don't really know how to dance," it wasn't like it was something he'd ever practiced or ever really done before, he somehow doubted that Luffy had even the coordination to spin his partner without sending them into the stratosphere so that was a massive 'no' there, "other than what you showed me, I mean, but that's…"

"That's more suited for parties."

Quinn hums. It's a tune without any real direction and is quick to peter off into nothing almost as soon as it starts. "You can probably… throw a bit of that in anywhere, so long as you slow the steps." She shrugs. "How about slow-dancing?"

He jerks a bit.

And it's Quinn's turn to watch in wonder as it has his ears burning bright red and how it starts to creep into a flush on his cheeks. _Oh,_ she just realizes how it sounds to him, who probably knows slow-dancing as only a form of intimacy, and she can see how suddenly uncomfortable he is by the possibility- strange, then, that he doesn't step away. "I- uh. That's not really-? Um, no. That's…"

"It's not nearly as salacious as it sounds." From the blank look on his face, she's guessing he doesn't know what that word means exactly. "By slow-dancing I meant more along the lines of ballroom dancing."

"Oh. Oh! That's- Okay then," that, at least, has his expression clearing and Quinn is fascinated by the sight of the red washing away from his face, as if it had never been there in the first place, "but, ballroom?" He, once again, sounds dubious. It's quick to turn cheeky. "Isn't that something a noble would do?"

"I could punch you too. That's always an option."

"No, you can't! I'm fire, remember?"

Yes, that she remembers.

It's rather hard to forget. Even taking his hand like this, she makes sure to keep her hold on him light, to keep from provoking a flame. Unbeknownst to her, the feather-like hold only serves to have him shivering.

"Still… kinda weird to dance without music. Oh, I know. You could sing!"

"Hard pass."

Nobody needed to be subjected to _that_ particular cat's wail this evening, she's sure.

Ace pouts. "But-"

"Just listen to the waves." She offers up instead. "Let them be our music."

And, just because that sounds weird to even her own ears, she hastens to add: "Or some poetic shit like that." And suffers from Ace's laugh at her expense once again.

Still.

He let's her take his hand.

Leading.

"Is dancing going to become our… thing now?" He can't help but muse. "Somehow I don't think anyone else is planning on offering me it anytime soon."

Quinn shrugs. "It can be. Would you like it to be? Our thing?"

It takes him a moment to answer. And then a moment for her to realize that it's because he's _shy._ It's a shade of him that's… odd, she dimly realizes, just for the fact that it's so unlike his usual hype and bravado.

She smiles.

"I'll have you know that while calling me a dancer is a very… loose definition of the world. But, if you're my dance partner-" Because parties, Just Dance, DDR, and whatever time she spent listening to music all by her lonesome with the freedom of no one to see her were a _far cry_ from being an actual dancer. And, even now, her motions with Ace were awkward and unpracticed and it was only a mix of both their concentration and intent keeping them from tripping over each other. "-I think _territorial_ would apply."

It's enough to shock a laugh.

"That's fine! Like I said, I don't imagine there's a lot of people looking to me for dancing of all things. Hell, even I wouldn't…"

"Hm. Why's that?"

"Huh?"

"Why's that? You're surprisingly coordinated and you're aware and conscientious enough to not make a fool of yourself by kicking me in the shins."

Tonight seems to be a night of pauses and Quinn thanks the heavens that none of them are necessarily awkward, which they very well could have been- especially considering how close the dancing had gotten them, and how Ace fumbled with one hand on her hip and the other on her hand in an equally cumbersome grasp.

"You know how I grew up in a forest, right?" He raises a brow. "Who was I gonna learn from? The tigers? The danpa's?"

"...danpa?" She shakes her head. "Guess you have me there though."

"Besides…" He added on, looking away, "If younger-me saw me dancing with someone, he'd-" He doesn't finish but Quinn, snorting, knows enough about men and silly little boys with their heads so filled with pride and rules that she knows exactly where he had been going with it.

And, oh- Ace is still so prideful, so puffed up and tense, even as she urges his feet to step alongside hers as they lazily accomplish a circular motion across the deck, that she's honestly surprised that he hadn't already run away. Scared off by just the attempt.

It might have more to do with the fact that…

His honest enjoyment in dancing with her had overridden his embarrassment.

(It helped that Quinn didn't look at him with any judgement in her eyes. Too encapsulated in her own thoughts to really think of his own in regards to it.)

She pulls out of his grasp and let's him perform a slow spin, leaning back and tugging him into another couple steps that are more intuitive than the result of any of her muttered-teachings and quiet ministrations. "There's no shame in liking something new. Like dancing." The blush is expected and she has to laugh as smoke starts to rise from his hair. "But… If you're really so embarrassed," oh, she's practically sparkling with mirth, "I can promise not to tell anyone. It'll be our little secret." Does her voice drop an octave into a teasing lilt? Yes, yes it does.

But Ace doesn't seem as tense now and, as the minutes pass, she can see the wakefulness starting to ease from his bones.

"...They're cute, aren't they?"

Spice mutters lowly. To the sleepy but attentive Kat who peaks around the doorway to catch a glimpse of their Captain and First Mate. He doesn't try to hide himself, not really- He'd already caught Quinn's gaze flickering to his, the silent order for 'don't say anything' obvious in it- and, instead, is lazily leaning against the wall next to the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. If he tilted his head back, turned his eyes, then, at just the right angle, he would be able to catch a glimpse without either of them knowing. Kat is on his knees, stealing glances, and looking not even a little conspicuous.

Kat smiles, cheeks straining as his teeth click with the force of the grin, "They are." He whispers, looking so delighted that it's hard to gauge his thoughts.

So Spice nods.

He never knew that a pirate crew could be so peaceful.

-0-

Reverse Mountain.

"Got everything?"

"Yep. Quinn, anything to add, resident-Grand Line informant?"

"...I don't remember much. And this might not even be accurate but I'm pretty sure that the reason ships have such problems with riding the currents up Reverse Mountain is partly due to the almost ninety-degree turn we have to make to get in the canal."

"You couldn't have mentioned that _sooner_?!"

"Look. I forgot that there even _was_ an entrance to the Grand Line, okay? At least I'm telling you before it's relevant."

_"How do you forget that there's an entrance-?!"_

It really is a monolithic key-piece sitting upon the Red Line and whatever argument beginning to brew stutters to a halt and Quinn has to take a step back- it's as if her breath has been knocked from her lungs because-

 _Wow._ Just… _Wow_.

That's one of the most amazing sights she'd ever beheld.

Sheer, cliff-face that stretched far and up into the clouds above, shifting in shades of russet red and rocky stone face. There's an eerie… uncanny valley sort of feel, she has to admit. An echoing silence that falls like a hush and-

It's just her.

But Quinn suddenly feels so very out of place. Like she doesn't belong. Like she shouldn't be here. And it's a disquieting urge that has her stumbling back and wanting to run away, but a curious glance from Spice has her stilling.

She feels a little sick and pale.

"It's the Red Line…!"

"The world really _is_ beautiful, huh?"

And it is beautiful. Disgustingly giant and all-consuming and something like this-? Like the Red Line? It couldn't exist in her world, it's too… perfect, pristine, and massive. Unblemished, sheer face that seems more like someone pulled a wire through clay to cut it than anything _natural._

It just reminds her how out of depth she really is.

Quinn squashes it down, ignores it.

She still has to wonder if the Red Line _is_ natural though, and not man-made. With this world… who even knew the answer for certain?

"Quinn! Is it finished?!"

The reprieve from Ace- who is beaming so widely that it hurts her cheeks just looking at him- is enough to have her snapping back into herself and she smirks, nodding. "I said it would be."

"Yeah, but then you said a whole bunch of confusing stuff too!"

She rolls her eyes.

She's surprised that her hands don't shake as she unravels the black sheet she'd been working on previously, up until the morning actually- she hadn't gotten much, if any, sleep last night after Ace had konked out sometime during their dancing- and spins it around for all to see.

The gasp that Katsura let's out has her preening.

"Our… own flag!"

The sheet was old. Painted and hand-drawn, that much was obvious, and Quinn- when first presented it by Ace- had immediately likened it to its original. And then- then he had asked her to embroider it.

"From here on out… this is our Jolly Roger!"

It was a complicated design of flames and patterns. White thread on white paint in a vaguely Dia De Los Muertos-styled pattern that brightened the skull and made it a daunting image, highlighted by yellow. The flames were stylized with swirls and diamonds and there were all sorts of references to a standard deck of cards- symbols of hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs throughout, and she had made sure to keep all of the design composed within the Spade itself. All in all, it made it seem like the background was on fire and flames were cracking through the skull imagery.

It vaguely reminded her of Alice in Wonderland and, well, Quinn supposed that was accurate when compared to her situation.

"We'll have to add it to the sails but…"

"Makes the whole piracy thing official, doesn't it?"

It's a bit panicking.

She can feel blood rush to her face and adrenaline having her heart going crazy- she's pretty sure she's having an anxiety attack in all honesty because she feels cold and clammy and a feeling of dread mixes with her trepidation and her excitement- Quinn takes a deep breath, feels it stutter. But that's fine.

A shaky grin spreads across her face.

"No turning back now."

Not when she's looking out over her crew- and it's _her_ crew, make no mistake because it's no one else's, oh, sure, Ace is the Captain but he's hers just as much as Kat and, now, Spice is- at Kat's tentative smiles, Ace's wide ones, and Spice's triumphant smirks. There really _isn't_ any going back now because Quinn… doesn't think she's going to be able to let any of this go.

Her eyes slide over to the beaming Ace-

"It's still dark enough that I can still see the lighthouse operating!"

"Follow it- to the summit!"

-only Spice notices the hard determination that passes over Quinn's face.

...

...

There isn't much time to think once they reach the canal.

The problem with translating an anime to real life- especially an _anime_ of all things, which are already slowed down to fill more time- is because the world moves much faster than anything that would've been animated. And it goes to shit just as fast. If not faster.

"Hard to starboard!"

It's also where, apparently, Katsura flourishes.

"Get the sail down- there's a backdraft and we have to catch it if we're going to make this current!"

The angle of the entrance. It's even sharper than Quinn had remembered, it's almost as if they have to turn the whole ship back around and, with the currents shoving them and pushing them along like they were, it should be impossible. They're too pointed forward- there's not enough room for error- and they just keep getting forced forward, towards the rocky mountain face of Reverse Mountain-

Quite honestly, she's not even sure it takes even a second.

_"We're gonna hit the rocks!"_

The ship lurches to a stop.

It's abrupt, unnatural, and it keeps them anchored in place- even as ferocious waves slam into the back of the ship and threaten to flip them over completely, head over heels. It doesn't offer any pause or reprieve- not with them scrambling around the deck and trying to reorient themselves. So it takes that time, of grabbing ropes and whipping the wheel to the side, to realize that Kat remains nearly frozen in his place at the side of the ship, clawed hands grabbing at the air.

"Kat…?"

The realization of what he was doing hits heavy.

"No way!"

"You stopped the ship?!"

They can see almost every muscle in his back and arms flexing, the obvious strain and difficulty of moving the ocean itself and it's currents while they're fighting against him- there's sweat on his brow and he falters, falling to one knee but doesn't let up, not even for a second. Sweat and salt water dripping down his face, his teeth grit, the near deafening sound of rushing water close to drowning out his struggling words, "I… can't hold it for long but we- we were about to hit and-"

They grimace.

"We need to turn. _Now!"_

There's a scary creaking.

And they're back in motion.

Still, they are only three people and the course correction is harder than imaginable.

"We're not turning fast enough!"

They aren't.

There's only a slow inch, inching, as they begin to turn but it's both not enough and growing to be more of a struggle by the second just to maintain it. Maybe if their ship was made for sharp turns like this- or, at the very least, was allowed to make them better- maybe then they would've been able to pull it off but, unfortunately, that just wasn't the case.

Kat snarls, arms straining and face scrunched and- "I can't keep hold of the currents much longer! Not like this-!"

Quinn grits her teeth, holding the ropes of the sail, trying to keep it in place- trying to get them to turn- but, even with both Ace and Spice helping, there doesn't seem to be any give in the currents-

Katsura falters.

There's a dangerous creak of something in the ship's bow about to cave.

"Captain, hold this!"

Ace doesn't need to be told twice.

Spice hands off the ropes he'd been keeping in place. And Quinn is nearly ripped off her feet in the half-second it takes to pass them off. Ace himself, well, with the added amount to what he's already holding, now forced to keep a grip on two completely different sets of ropes, one twisted around each arm, is left scrambling on the wet dank and trying to gain back his footing. Quinn doesn't even have the time to glance their way, wheezing as her arm aches- oh, it may be close to fully healed beneath the cast but it's still so very, very weak- and is forced to wrap her legs around the railing of the ship to keep herself from losing her footing or, even worse, losing her grip.

So no one manages to see what Spice is up to.

Only able to listen to the sound of him disappearing into the galley, the door slamming shut behind him because of the sudden gales of wind that scream up the mountainside.

None of them get to see his mind at work as he pulls one of the hammocks down, tossing blankets and pillows to the floor and nearly tripping over the books that'd been knocked out of their nooks, as he knots the two ends together. It creates a sort of makeshift net and he whips around, looking for a spare rope and-

"SPICE! I CAN'T HOLD IT!"

-the galley door slams back open and he comes storming out, his sword piercing through one of the holes on the netting as he weaves the spare rope he'd discovered in just the nick of time throughout the net and ties it to the swords guard. Leaving a long piece free for him to hold onto.

_"Spice!"_

"I'm on it-!"

He grounds his teeth together, gripping his sword.

Ace blinks and is surprised to find that his torso had been completely bisected without any warning. "...Spice? Why did you-?"

"You were in the way. Sorry."

He doesn't sound sorry.

Ace follows the sight of the rope wrapped around Spice's forearm as his torso reconstructs itself- it's an odd feeling, a little ticklish and itchy, it's also incredibly hot but, of course, it doesn't burn- and catches sight of the thrown blade. It'd been tossed, though maybe spun was a more apt description, set spinning through Ace and was now cleaved into the mountain wall. So deep that only a sliver of its silver blade was left to be seen.

It was connected to Spice by the spare length of rope and the hammock- the net- that the sword had been shoved through helps to maintain that straining piece, keeping it from snapping in two as it's pulled taunt and Spice braces himself on the mast of the ship.

Ace stares, trying to figure out why...

"Kat- let go!"

_"What?!"_

"Let. Go!"

The order has them all whipping up to gape at Spice in horror but he just meets their gazes head on. And Ace- Ace only takes a brief second to take in the look before understanding dawns on him and he's whipping around to shout at Kat as well. "Listen to him, do it!" It's a wonder watching the hesitation on Katsura's face between the strain and the muscles flexing on his arm and…

"Okay, okay, okay-" He doesn't sound like he's okay with it at all, not even remotely. "-trusting you on this!"

Kat let's go.

And Spice-

_Pulls._

Muscles bulging and face red with consternation as Kat gasps, collapsed and breathless and trying to recover, as Spice forcibly rips them into the right direction- sword screeching as it threatens to be pulled free from the rocks, the weight of the ship enough to start breaking the mountain-side itself, but- he manages it-

They turn.

"Holy shit, Spice!"

"Spice is the MVP…!"

The current up Reverse Mountain finally grabs them, ripping Spice's sword from the wall in the same motion- the net had been close to breaking to pieces- and then it comes flying back.

Quinn shrieks and drops to the deck, just barely keeping herself from being beheaded.

Spice, nonchalantly, as if he hadn't just used an inhuman amount of strength to forcibly _move an entire ship in a different direction_ , simply catches the sword by its hilt and sheaths it.

"...'kay, I don't think people are allowed to be that cool."

There's not enough time to cheer in triumph and pat him on the back or even, really, be impressed by Spice's display of power and quick thinking, because the ship lurches forward, and they're off.

Like a bullet, rising with the current, straight up to the very top of Reverse Mountain.

...

...

Ace feels like his heart has stopped in his chest.

It's a stalled, lingering moment where their ship hangs above the clouds and he can see it-

The grandness, why it got its name, the wide expanse of ocean blue that lays before them, glittery and uncharted waters that catch the light of the morning sun and gleam like an untouched treasure. He can't see any islands, can't see even a speck, but he imagines that he could, imagines that he's there already and-

And-

And Ace looks to his crew, still stuck in that moment frozen in time. From Spice's wide eyes and hand still in the motion of sheathing his sword, to Kat's dropped jaw and hands clutching at the railing, and to Quinn's hair fluttering behind her as, for once, it doesn't fall on her face and he can see her expression clearly. The slight widening of her eyes and the slightly opened mouth stare.

Ace beams at all three of them.

They're not a big crew- but, for now, they're more than enough.

He clutches at his bicep. At the crossed out S, of Sabo's Jolly Roger, and feels that wide grin strain his cheeks. "Can you see me… Sabo? We're here."

There's no answer of course. He didn't expect one.

The moment ends with deafening, booming winds that feel like a whistling vortex, and they're slamming back into the sea. Sucked downward on the other side of the mountain and gaining speed as rocks rush by them and they finally- finally!- make it into the Pirate's Graveyard- to Paradise- to the Grand Line!

...Of course, that's when something decides to come up from beneath them.

_"Is that a whale?!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spades: *surprised pikachu face* did you just… turn an entire ship around in the middle of a super current with your bare hands?
> 
> Spice: what? like it's hard?  
> This chapter was shorter than normal because I wanted there to be a clear distinction between the East Blue and the Grand Line.
> 
> The embroidered flag was actually a commenter suggestion that I couldn't stop thinking about! So thanks @DarknessEvernight13 cause kfdsjdksjf I couldn't get it out of my head once you suggested it! Yayy! They have a Jolly Roger now! And we're officially out of the East Blue, it only took 18 chapters and so, so many words!
> 
> I also have JDLKAJFL news! Someone made me fanart!! They don't have all of it posted but @Deathbequick has it up on their art-fic and it was so nice and so amazing and im still screaming over it -- it made me so happy! <333 it's the first fanart anyone's ever made me!
> 
> Next Chapter: Reverse Mountain II: Crocus and Quinn! A Stalemate Born From Truths That Should Not Be Known!


	19. Reverse Mountain II: Crocus and Quinn! A Stalemate Born From Truths Untold!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Ace's b-day! So enjoy an early chapter.
> 
> Warnings: Quinn being unknowingly creepy, mild description of scars (medical perspective?), implied past self-harm. It's not detailed or anything, barely even touched upon, but I wanted to still put a warning.
> 
> The majority of this chapter is written from Crocus's (unreliable) perspective.

"Ow."

Ace's back is stiff and his neck hurts. As good as his Devil Fruit is, and the lack of pain that evolves from being untouchable flames, it still doesn't stop him from sleeping in awkward positions that have him aching in the shoulder blades.

"...Hey, Ace."

"G'mrn'ng, Quinn."

Is it a good morning? He can't remember but Quinn doesn't say anything to contradict him so he assumes it is. His memories are a bit vague, they sometimes are when a sleeping spell hits, and he's lucky that his fruit keeps him from breaking anything whenever it causes him to collapse.

He rubbed his eyes.

"Wha' happened?"

Oh, wow. His words are absolutely coming out slurred.

"You nearly fell off the cape." Comes Quinn's stiff, upset reply. Ow, so _not_ a good morning then. He holds in a wince. "Kat caught you before you fell all the way down but it was a close one. He almost missed seeing you fall at all."

He nods.

Ah, that figures.

It also helps to explain the tense, dark look that she's currently pinning him with.

"...sorry."

Is he sorry? He doesn't think so. Not really. Oh, maybe for the trouble that it causes them, but not sorry for not caring that he'd been about to die- just like that- for no reason at all- Ace is tired and doesn't care. Apathy running through his veins like a poison.

The excitement from before had been dulled due to the circumstances.

Quinn huffs.

"...I got you something."

He startles.

"From a previous island," she's careful not to mention which, "and, as your crewmate, but also as your friend, I'm requiring that you accept it."

"...Huh?"

He's pretty sure that's not how gifts work but Quinn just rolls her eyes and raises up a pair of those red and white bracelets she had on her arm. Okay. That's… a weird thing to preface with the seriousness that she did.

"...accessories?"

"Emergency Inflatables."

That makes more sense.

Ace sits up.

"There's a switch on the inside. It's a one time use so _don't hit it now_ -" She just narrowly stops him from using it and he looks up at her, not unlike a kid who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "-but it should save you if Kat or Spice or, hell, even me, can't get to you in time. Think of it as a fail-safe."

She's worrying her lip so all he can really do is accept a couple of the bracelets and slide them on, they feel cold to the touch and rubbery, but he supposes he can get used to them.

Quinn seems to slump in relief.

Ace scratches the back of his head, "Did you guys get anything more done on the ship while I was out?"

"Yeah but…"

She trails off and he can see the dreary set to her eyes as she glances back behind them and Ace snorts.

"...we're really not good at it. It won't survive the trip to even the first island with a weak hull. The crazy weather- it's the worst in the beginning and-"

She droops.

"I'm sorry. I should've known about La- the whale. I should've said something- this is my fault. And now we're stuck with a damaged ship _again_ and…"

Ace frowns. "No, it's not. How could you have possibly known?" He doesn't miss the way Quinn flinches and he's careful to keep his eyes from narrowing. He's not suspicious of her, hadn't been, but something like it begins to curl in his gut, completely unbidden, as she ducks her head and looks away. "The Stellar is a good ship. She'll carry us- don't worry!"

He's tired- he's groggy- so it's missing the usual chipperness that he tries to shove into his voice, the bright and hopeful and determined notes that always had Kat and Spice puffing up- but there's confidence there; a promise. And it's more than enough for Quinn and he sighs in relief at that because he really is just completely wiped out by both his narcolepsy and the destruction of part of their ship. Not having to force himself, or pretend, is a reprieve that Quinn always seems to grant him.

Honestly, he thinks she prefers it.

"Still- I'm supposed to know about the Grand Line… I can't even do that right."

Ace really does scowl this time. Not at her so much as her words because- what? This was a freak accident. And she was acting like she should've known that it was going to happen, known about the massive whale that their ship had plowed into before it went diving back down to create quakes from smashing it's head against the mountain, and should've been aware that it was even a possibility, should've been able to control wild animals- "You think too much. You can't account for everything." There was no way she could've known. "Besides things like this happen all the time. We just gotta push through it all!"

Quinn falters, "You're… way too positive, Ace." He doesn't know about that. "But you're right. Still- this sucks. And we were so excited about finally making it to the Grand Line too…"

Ace nods.

The truth is that this just hammers home how unprepared they are but- ah- what can you do? The sea was unforgiving and apparently whales even more so.

The Stellar had been knocked astray by Laboon's interference, the bottom front of the ship nearly caved in beneath the force of ramming into him at the same time he'd come up for air. It could've been worse- way, way worse, because it wasn't as if the damage was irreparable but… other than Ace, who was self-taught and mediocre _at best_ , none of them had carpentry skills.

Well, Kat apparently knew a surprising amount about making your own irrigation system but that was neither helpful nor currently relevant.

Four days.

They'd been stuck at the Twin Capes for _four days._

There wasn't even any Crocus in sight which Quinn took to mean that he was currently living it up in Laboon's digestive system.

"...Hey, Quinn?"

"Yeah Ace?"

"...Falling in the water fucking _sucks._ "

"Kehaha. It sure does."

...

...

A kick to the stomach, at just the wrong angle, and Quinn falls to her knees, her hand clasping over her mouth and-

She scrambles to the edge of the cape and vomits into the water down below. Oh, great. There goes her breakfast.

"Quinn!"

Ace grimaces as Kat rushes to help hold her hair back. That- He definitely hadn't meant to hit her that hard. And not directly in the stomach either. "Sorry! That's my bad, Quinn."

She flips him off over her shoulder.

...That's fair.

Honestly, as little as Quinn was learning from their spars- as Ace was just wiping the floor with her ass and she didn't really get the chance to try anything out before he overpowered her- Ace was definitely getting a fine grasp of control over his strength-output levels. With Luffy, he had never had to dial it back, his brother was rubber and therefore near indestructible to most of what he did and it wasn't like he was bringing a knife into a fight with him or actually intent on hurting him, so it was rough trying to figure out a good amount of force behind his punches that wouldn't… cripple a normal human being.

He'd thought he'd had it too.

Kat had taken a similar hit no problem and so had Spice, hell, even a good three-fold more and he was sure they would've been fine.

Quinn though… Quinn was different.

He wanted to say that it was because she just didn't have the same tolerance but, if anything, she was tough as nails compared to them.

That wasn't to say they were _weak_ , no way- Ace's crewmates were strong as hell and could take it just as well! But, and Ace only notices this because he's had years and years of hunting and robbing and hurting all sorts of people, it was almost like the damage he was dealing was doing twice as much to her- twice as much harm, twice as much pain, all for only a quarter of what he could put out.

Ace was a little surprised that he hadn't heard something crack yet.

"I must not be controllin' my own strength well enough just yet." He huffs, fixing his hat back on his head as Quinn pushes off the ground, wiping her face on her sleeve, and stumbles back over to continue. Looking more than a little peeved and disgruntled and visibly biting her tongue to keep from complaining… or cursing him out. There was that too. "Want to try your way?" He offers, politely.

"Yes, Ace. I would…" She shoots him a glare. " _Prefer_ if I was taught without being beaten to a pulp. As you insist on doing."

"Well, how _else_ will I know what you've improved on?"

"Oh? And what have I gotten better at, huh?"

"I don't know what it's called. But that thing-" He snaps his fingers, trying to figure out how to say it. "You know, the one where you dodge and then, like, push the outside of my arm to redirect my punch? You're good at that!"

Her eyebrow twitches.

"I'm good at… dodging and shoving you. In that order."

"If you follow it up with something, it'd be cool?" He tries. "It really does kinda throw me off. Makes me have to start over from the top 'cause it's hard to go off of a redirected punch like that. Throws off my footing a bit too!"

Quinn's head tilts thoughtfully at that.

"Guerilla tactics… got it. That might- just work as a style actually."

"I don't know about that but you said you wanted to work on getting out of chokeholds last time, right?"

"Yeah. After the one _you_ put me in."

It's with a careful arm that he wraps himself around her neck, without any force as Quinn mumbled to herself and tried to remember the actual process of breaking a chokehold. Slightly unaware of the fact that Ace was listening intently himself and committing the knowledge to memory to use himself when it was his turn to escape one. They walk through it twice before Quinn gives him a thumbs up to try it for real.

She fails the first time. Double-tapping his arm for release before they try again and she just barely manages to throw him off.

Her shout of, "Again!" Is intense and he can't help but grin a little at the raw determination in her eyes.

"How long have they been going?"

Kat nearly jumps out of his skin as Spice saddles up next to him.

"Oh, uh… not very long. Maybe twenty minutes?"

"Hm."

Kat's own training involved more meditation and getting his water-based abilities down until they were more second nature than anything else, so he was often able to watch Ace and Quinn go at it, hands spinning ribbons of water around the blades of his claws and tearing torrents into whatever rock he decided to flick it into. Admittedly, it was kinda hard to watch- not for lack of multitasking but because his instincts were yelling at him to jump up to protect Ace every time Quinn went for a hit and screaming at him whenever Quinn took a hit. Every time they sparred, trained, whatever they decided to call it, Kat's face went on a journey.

A journey of winces, grimaces, and fighting to not cover his eyes but a journey nonetheless.

Speaking of, Kat has to look away as Quinn starts coughing over a failed escape. Her hands had fumbled at the last second and it'd caused Ace's arm to come snapping back up to slam against her throat. That _looked_ like it'd hurt.

"Hey, is that a new sword?"

And, in doing so, he spots the sheathed blade in Spice's hands. It looks much too small for him. The hilt itself was just barely larger than the palm of his hand.

"...Or a knife, in your case?"

"If I used knives, mine would not be nearly so puny or pitiful." Spice snorts. "It's for Quinn. Because the butter knife she's been using so far may be good enough for the East Blue but the Grand Line is most certainly going to be harsher."

Kat's first thought is: Oh, that's so nice of you! Then, his next thought is: wow, that's awfully presumptuous. "You do know she's originally from the Grand Line, right? The City That Never Sleeps, remember?" He'd been there for her talking about it and everything.

Quinn had looked so very sad as she had talked about it. It honestly made Kat wonder if something had happened to her island and that's why she'd ended up in the East Blue.

"And lived there- _here_ now, I guess- for even longer than I did? I think she knows what we're getting into."

Spice's lips purse.

"Maybe in terms of _content._ But in experience? Doubtful."

Spice's gaze flickers to him and he lets out a sigh: "Don't look at me like that. I simply don't have rose-tinted goggles on like you seem to." Kat splutters. "It's not an insult. Not against you or her- but you'd be stupid to not notice that Quinn is clearly-"

There's a yelp as Quinn is thrown over Ace's back, yanked on by her good arm, until she was flung into the dirt in front of him, forcibly flipped completely over him. Yeah, attempting a chokehold on Ace would do that to you.

"-not a fighter. Not an experienced one at least."

Kat flicks a wave of water into the ground, letting it score the earth with a deep slash. "That's what training is _for._ "

"Exactly."

Wait.

He blinks.

Looks up at Spice, " _You're_ going to train Quinn?!"

"Why is that so surprising?"

"I thought you hated her! You- You're always making fun of her and everything."

"...Those are jokes."

Kat gapes. " _Mean_ jokes!"

Spice lets out a little huff that might be a laugh. Kat squints at him, struggling to figure it out. "I'm sure you'll understand when you're older."

"Wha- Oh, don't pull that shit on me!"

Kat doesn't get much more time to throw in any of his two-cents because Spice is already busy stalking off towards Ace and Quinn after Kat's indignant cry. A hand raised to stall the two from continuing their little display and the other lazily fiddling with the hilt of the tanto he had loosely hung from his belt. He would never understand how most swordsmen could stand to have their swords at their hips, it felt so… lopsided and strange. He much preferred his sword on his back. "Oy, the cook is interrupting." He called over blandly. "Take five, Ace. Better yet, take ten. We're going to be awhile."

Quinn- poor, innocent, _naïve_ Quinn- simply looked up at him in confusion and not the fear she should. "What is it?"

"Got you a present." He paused, then added: "You probably aren't going to like it."

He's filling her with confidence here.

Quinn, rubbing her bruised neck, eyes him with suspicion, "And… it has something to do with training." She glances down. "And that sword in your hand, I'm guessing."

"Oh, wow. Figure that out yourself?"

"Hardy har har."

"Ta-da. Yours now." There isn't much fanfare in Spice's motions as he drops the sword into her hands and all she can really do is… just blink at it, the thanks she gives is quiet and absentminded. "Congratulations, you have a sword that you don't know how to use." Yes, very useful. "Now, would you like to learn?"

She can't help the snicker.

It's without humor but it still falls from her lips.

"Tch. Like you're giving me a choice," eyes almost gleaming with interest as she meets his gaze, "fine, where do we start?"

...

...

Spice's sword lessons are… in a word, brutal.

In a way that Quinn still prefers over sparring with Ace but still.

It's not even for difficulty, though Quinn finds her fingers fumbling on her tiny-swords hilt and her arms shaking from the unexpected weight that came from holding up an object of _any_ weight, really, for hours, hours, and hours. The hardest part about them- ignoring Spice's interjections- is how repetitive and _boring_ they are.

It doesn't help that Spice has managed to find a pointy stick to hit her with.

"See? Look at that, I barely met your blade and you nearly dropped it." He scoffs at her, unimpressed. Quinn tries not to make a face. "You need a more firm stance and… yes, finally, maybe you'll actually be able to take a hit this time."

So far it involved a lot of practiced stances while trying to hold her blade firm and Spice smacking her with his new favorite stick to poke holes in her form.

"This is pathetic. Try again."

Her brow twitched.

"Even worse."

_He's just helping. He's just helping._

He jabs her in the hand with the stick and she closes her eyes, face struggling to stay neutral as her eyebrows steadily fall more and more downward. Expression pinching.

"Are you even trying?"

_He's just helping-_

The stick stabbed into the back of her knee.

"Kh-!"

There's a clash of metal on metal.

Spice smirks, "Oh, finally. I was wondering how long it would take to piss you off."

Quinn twitches. Teeth gritting through an angry smile, "More annoyed. If I was actually pissed off I wouldn't be using the back of the blade." She has enough sense to turn the sword so it wouldn't actually have harmed Spice if he hadn't pulled his sword free to block. Making it look all too easy. Like trying to wave a fly away, if that.

"I'll have to try harder next time."

She scowls and then kicks at him around their connecting swords-

(Oh, she could never hope to actually hold a block against him. Not only was he stronger, but he was also heavier- all he had to do was lean a bit forward and his sword would be coming down towards her head.)

- _"Did you just try and go for a_ nut-shot _?!"_ He hisses, voice easing into an oddly high pitch that was- she held back a snorting laugh in shock at it. It was a sound she never expected to hear from him.

"Yeah." She snickers, dropping from the sword stance he'd been having her go over.

The training, and hours had passed since they'd begun and the sun was even starting to set from the looks of it- Ace and Kat, meanwhile, had eventually given up watching and waiting for them to finish and had gone to do their own sparring that was scorching and scoring the earth- but the entirety of hers was mostly…. what were they called? Katas? Simple forms that Quinn felt awkward doing and made it hard to concentrate.

She frowns at the tanto, eyeing her reflection in the silver of the blade.

"A tanto is strong for stabbing and slashing." Spice had said when he'd first handed it over and, well, Quinn didn't honestly know what _else_ a sword would be good for- (What's so hard about swish-swish-stab?)- but she knew enough about video games and the like to know- at best, she was working with a sidearm here.

"Did you think a… _whole_ sword would be bad for me?" She asks with interest, thumb gliding along the flat of the blade, even if the razor's edge was drawing her like a moth to a flame.

(The itch under her skin was an old ache and she shook her head.)

"Why? Think that just because the sword I chose is small that it's an insult?"

She shakes her head. A sidearm was definitely more suited for her. Something that she could have at her side for "what-if"'s instead of a primary weapon that would take years of effort to even _handle_ safely. This, at the least, was slightly more intuitive. Less likely to cut her head off if she fumbled. She could see where he got his reasoning from.

Spice snorts, "Well, in some ways it is."

Oh, nevermind that then.

This time Quinn doesn't even try to keep the scowl off her face. "...Why are you always goading me?"

There came a point when it was just too- purposeful to be ignored.

He doesn't answer the question, not at first, only stalks forward, grips her wrists and rotates her into another pose. "Try gripping like this now…" He murmurs, softly and for the first time without any bite to his tone. Quinn follows the instruction. It ends with her gripping the hilt of her tanto with the blade parallel to her forearm. "Now, move like this."

He shows her a motion and she copies it slowly.

Trying to keep the glances she snuck of him hidden behind her bangs. She was only slightly successful.

Spice shows her a few more katas, one leading into the next, and she slowly repeats them. Then again. And again. And, in silence, once again. Her impatience must show on her face because the glare beginning to form in her narrowing gaze has him pursing his lips and finally coming up with a response for the damning question.

"I think…" He didn't seem hesitant but he does trail off for a moment, gaze flickering over her before he grimaces. "I think that you're weak."

...What is she going to do? _Deny_ it?

Quinn is many things and one of those is being startlingly aware of her faults. She was too apathetic, she was too quick to fall into her own head, depressingly hopeful for human connections, and she knew that she could get… obsessive about things. She was also- quite recently- being constantly hammered over the head with the fact that she was not infallible, she had an incredible lack of useful skills, and the likelihood of her survival on the Grand Line was rapidly, _steadily_ decreasing.

She let the sword slice through the air, harsher than the slow movements of before.

"What of it?" She asks instead, tone clipped and harsh. "I'm… already trying to fix that." She grouses. Gesturing to the sword and then to Ace and then to the bruises on her face and neck and the stiffness in her back, hell, even her cast that's still on!

He crosses his arms over his chest and speaks again, "I think you're weak." He says evenly. "And you have done nothing to show me otherwise."

"I'm _here_ aren't I?"

He lets out a noise of frustration, so quiet and so easily mistaken as nothing but a harsh huff of air that Quinn can't help but bristle.

There's… some sort of miscommunication going on.

"I do not care if you were a nightmare to every enemy you faced, frankly I've had enough of men like that. And I would not care if you were the weakest of this crew, even if you already are, so I won't begrudge you the lack of instruction- training." He frowns. "It's a step in the right direction, I admit, but _that_ is not where I'm concerned."

A miscommunication that only seems to grow as Quinn fails to grasp the intention behind his words. "Then why would you be goading me- What _are_ you concerned about? If not that?" He doesn't like that's she's weak, but he doesn't mind it, but his definition of weakness _must_ include something she's been actively doing wrong because otherwise-

"Your intent means nothing if you don't have the drive to back it up."

Once again, Quinn pulls up short.

Her floundering must show on her face. "The fact remains, that I have not seen you fight. I haven't seen you defend anyone. Or protect them. Or even step in. Every time there seems to be an opportunity, I'm not there or I'm the one to take care of it. And I only believe the things I've seen for myself and know to be true-" His hands grip his biceps a little tighter here, jaw grinding. "-it has been weeks and I have seen you lose your temper, talk a big game, _insult_ our Captain-"

 _That_ one is something that had her head whipping up and eyes immediately glaring.

"-and there has not been anything, other than the practicing, to tell me otherwise. People show their true colors when faced with their fears, you know?"

Oh, he is _not_ steamrolling over that one. Not today. Quinn refuses to let him just go back to subject after dropping _that_ on her.

"...You think I insult our Captain?!" She hisses, low; wounded by the insinuation. "That I've done _anything_ to hurt him?!"

Briefly, actually, she searches for any indication of that being the case, and she can find none that- stand out to her. None other than her own personal failings but those were hardly marks against Ace.

And _insult?_

Quinn snorts at the prospect. She wouldn't _let_ Ace claim to be her Captain if she thought he wasn't worth it. She was not above speaking her mind sometimes, sure, but that should be expected.

"You constantly question him. Almost every order he's given, now that I think about it-"

Both their minds briefly flicker back to his island, where Quinn had been vehement on discretion. And the few since then had been met with a much more casual, but similar, line.

"-so what else am I to think?"

Quinn sucks in a deep breath.

Counts to five.

Let's it out.

Nope. She's still kinda pissed. Maybe even a little more now.

"There… is a difference between questioning and clarification and- and blind subordinance! If Ace gives an order, a vague one that affects _all of us_ , even if we agree with the order, we'd still have the right to question it!"

Spice stops himself from snapping out, sassily: 'No, _you_ have the right. As first mate.' And she does. But she also does it _constantly._

"It undermines-"

"The hell it does!" Quinn is glaring at him and he's faintly aware of a slight shiver running up his spine and remembers just how many people she's run off with just a harsh look. He doesn't think it's the same- there's more frustration in her gaze- but there's something odd there, in that look, that he either can't put his finger on or doesn't know the words to describe it. "I would follow an order from Ace, even if I disagreed with it."

The admission is met with a blank look and she practically deflates, heart pounding in her chest. This argument… it has her adrenaline rising and heart rate spiking to untold levels.

"...Even if it was something that went against my own morals and beliefs."

In the context of this world, that is… a horrifying statement to make. Because it was actively acknowledging a willingness to do depraved things if asked- something that marines did all the time but they- _they_ were often blind to their own actions and the consequences of them, but she wasn't going to take it back, even with the vaguely stricken look on Spice's face.

(Yeah. To admit, _knowingly,_ willingly, that she'd do something similar, was honestly horrible. And, _god_ , she'd said it to _Spice_ of all people, who knew and was intimately aware of the Marines and Government disregard for civilian safety- it was bad. It was super bad.

Quinn couldn't bring herself to care.)

'Cause, sickeningly, she knows that she probably would. If it was Ace asking.

But...

"Because I know Ace _wouldn't ask me to._ I- may not have known him for long, or even very well, yet. But I trust that he wouldn't-" She licks her lips. "-that he wouldn't ask me to do anything he wouldn't do himself, if he could."

And that's the truth, at least.

Quinn resolutely tries not to think about the- consequences of those statements. Because she couldn't help but wonder herself where the sudden fierce bout of loyalty had come from, and why it didn't feel odd. It was a long time coming, she knew, but a quick look back on just _how little_ time had passed since Ace found her in that cell… It has a knot forming in her throat and her eyes blinking back a burning sensation.

(Was it really so simple? Was it really _so easy?_ )

She curses herself a little. She was always way too quick to grab onto things and refuse to let them go- how else did she get herself in this situation?

(They were _hers,_ she can't take that back.)

"So- yes. I voice _an opinion._ Because if an idea has any merit, it should hold up to minor questioning, even if it's something that he does just because he wants to. It… It makes him think on what he asks of us, takes it more seriously. How could that be a negative?" Spice doesn't have anything for her there. "Besides, we're pirates. There aren't any _rules_ for me to follow. I can do whatever the hell I want."

They'd… They'd gotten off track.

Spice drops the subject and returns to the one they were on before, voice quiet and strained. "I don't know what to expect of you, if something were to go wrong." It sounds almost soft to the ear, honestly. "How can I work with you, if I don't even know if you're a coward or not?"

He pauses, then adds snidely: "As your disposition would suggest.

It's a joke. With an underlying kernel of truth, but Quinn let's it go with a rueful laugh. It helps to break up some of the- the tension that's thick in the air.

"And…" He looks like he's weighing whether it's worth it to even say and, yeah, that's exactly what Spice is doing because he hasn't a clue if it'll only worsen the odd stalemate they have going on or finally finish it. He decides to just take the plunge. "I don't think you respect yourself. That makes it hard to try and respect you."

She falls silent. Opens her mouth, closes it, opens it again, and says nothing.

It's a wonder watching her face go through the gymnastics of sorting through the sudden mangling of emotions that it'd caused her.

In the end, she simply doesn't address it.

"I'm not going to go picking any fights just to show off to you. And I wouldn't change anything I've done up 'til now, not really, but-"

She bites her lip, head ducking.

"...I can work on it. That's all I'm able to promise right now."

It's not enough for him. Not really. But he'll let it be enough for now because evening is falling and so is the dark and they've been up for hours and even Ace and Kat had run off back to the ship once they'd noticed their argument heating up to levels that were definitely not welcome to eavesdroppers.

Spice sighs. "Right." He sighs again, just for good measure and sheaths his sword. "I have… dinner to prepare."

And Quinn-

Oh. Ooh.

She's forgotten how-

Quinn had forgotten how emotionally draining arguing could be. How physically taxing it could be too. Because she's now exhausted in a way that she knows isn't just all the katas talking and- "I'm… gonna stay out here a bit longer. Don't wait up on me."

The thought of being in an enclosed space with other people right now was a bit suffocating.

"Mmh."

And she let her gaze drift away as she… struggled to put her own sword back in it's sheath, _wow,_ that's embarrassing. Letting her eyes roam back over the rocky cape and-

It's a bit of a walk, the lighthouse. Raised by a rocky pathway, but she can see the locked door at the bottom as an entrance.

Aa. That's…

Something cold settles in the pit of her stomach as a sudden memory hits her along with a realization of putting two-and-two together.

That's an interesting thought.

"Oh, and Spice?"

"...Hm?"

Her eyes are fixed onto the lighthouse. To him, it just looks like she's going out of her way to not look him in the eye, but, to her, it seems almost impossible to rip her gaze away from the building. "I can assure you…" she says evenly, voice hard, "...that whatever I do, it's going to be to help the crew."

He snorts. "If you say so."

Of course, someone like him still needs proof. Unfortunately, Quinn's not planning on doing anything she'd be willing to show him.

-0-

Crocus may have technically moved into Laboon to heal him but his home was still the light house on the Twin Capes. So, like clockwork, with another week spent helping Laboon's monolithic body survive under its own impossible gigantism- little island whales like him were never supposed to grow as big as he did and he definitely needed the biomechanical support as a result- and the internal damages he was causing himself by ramming his head into Reverse Mountain.

Crocus prepared to leave Laboon's stomach and pursed his lips at the darkness he came out to.

They were on the tail-end of winter so it really shouldn't be so surprising to find the sun missing even though he'd been hoping it had still been up since it wasn't quite that late yet.

What he really wasn't expecting though, and perhaps that was his own fault for not paying more attention to the world outside Laboon, was the ship anchored on the cape. And, considering its flag, it was another group of pirates coming to try their hand at the Grand Lines waters.

"What did they do to the ground?" He can't help but huff. Eyeing the scorch marks and the… was that evidence of Fishman Karate he was seeing? Or, at least, something close to it? That wasn't something he ever saw on this half of the Grand Line, as far away as they were from Fishman Island and the New World which was- objectively safer for Fishman as the Marine and Government presence was pretty minimal as compared to paradise. But still- even there, it was _already_ not all that common.

He clicks his tongue, giving their ship another once over.

It was small. Not too small for the Blues but it definitely wouldn't be lasting very long, especially if they didn't know what they were doing, and- hell- it already looked to be in a state of disrepair. In fact, his eyes narrowed at the sight of it, cataloguing the damages, it looked like they'd had a run in with the mountain. But then, if that were true, they wouldn't have even been able to make it over Reverse Mountain. They'd definitely collided with something.

...Crocus feels his brows pinch. It was Laboon they hit, wasn't it?

It was.

It absolutely was.

Well, he supposed there were worse stories of pirates first few minutes in the Grand Line, he's sure running into a giant whale will be a good one. If they live to tell it that is. A small ship like that, not even a caravan, spoke of both arrogance and naivety. Unpreparedness was not going to get them far, no matter what kind of people they were and Crocus finds himself wandering closer in interest, lantern swaying and casting a soft red glow as, before long, he found himself standing near the bow of the ship. He lifts his lantern up, a cursory glance reveals the badly repaired hull scrappily put together and tells him that they don't have a shipwright or anyone that knows what they're doing when it comes to ships. Which is even worse news for them.

Crocus doesn't board the ship. He's not an idiot, for one. Even if he's sure that, even in his old age, he could take the group, it's common knowledge that one does not just _enter into another person's home_ without permission. Especially pirates. Not unless you were trying to actively challenge and disrespect them. It was one of the fastest ways to get killed or make enemies on the seas. And Crocus didn't need to add more to his, frankly, huge list. Not if he could help it.

He does spare a glance to the window though.

Sees a trio of young men and if that's their crew in its entirety he knows they won't be making it to the next island. At least they each look strong on their own and- oh! A Fishman… so he was right about the Fishman Karate then, he's guessing. What an unusual little group, he shook his head, turning on heel and wandering off. Half expecting one of them to take notice of the light from his lantern and call out to him but there's nothing.

Heh. Dumb kids, not even paying attention to their surroundings.

But, briefly, his eyes flicker back over and he turns the image of their faces over in his head. It's not often that Crocus finds himself seeing a familiar face, especially one that he swears he's met in person and not just through a newspaper, even rarer that it's someone that he doesn't remember meeting and something's telling him that it's not his age getting to him. The first two were completely unfamiliar, though he had nearly had his eyes pop out of his skull when all he had seen from the young one was the back of his head and his… shockingly bright red hair, unusual enough but a closer look had orange and some browns stuck in the mix so it wasn't as if it was much more than enough to have anyone who knew Red Hair give a knee jerk response, the second one hadn't drawn any reactions, though from the sword on his back Crocus was willing to bet he was somehow related to that famous chef that had been causing a fit in the Grand Line some odd years back. No, neither of them, even with all that, were anywhere near as familiar as the third who was… well, Crocus couldn't put his finger on it exactly. His face seemed to tickle at the back of his mind in an almost bothersome way.

Aa, whatever, he's sure if it's something actually important it'll come to him eventually. It wouldn't be too surprising to find out that he was probably some small-time bounty that had popped up recently- even if he can't quite shake the feeling that his presence is familiar- and he didn't have the patience, nor the time, to meet with every single person that passed by the Twin Capes.

Unfortunately…

Unfortunately, it seems that he won't be given much of a choice this time around.

A broken-in light house. Odd, whoever did it clearly knew how to pick locks because they hadn't damaged anything in opening the door. It was even left open, swaying slightly in the breeze and- creaking on it's old hinges as he pushed it open, casting his shadow in the light of the full moon behind him.

There's nothing seemingly out of place, at first glance.

But Crocus's eyes narrow on the open cupboard that he knows for a fact that he'd closed. There didn't seem to be anything broken, or shoved aside, hell, there were even some small pieces of random jewelry laid about that he hadn't cared about enough to squirrel away inside Laboon. Honestly, the only reason he thinks he kept it there in the first place was for exact situations like this, to see if anyone would break in and steal it.

In which case, that means that whoever this is, they're not motivated by robbery and that makes him think that they're looking for something specific. What, though? That's the question. As far as he's aware, he doesn't have anything that would interest the general populace and if it was just a pirate deciding to take a look around he's sure that they would've already broken in- sometime in the days they'd obviously already been stuck here.

So Crocus clutches the strap of the harpoon gun lazily tossed over his shoulder and begins the slow process of walking up the spiraling staircase leading to the upper floor.

There's a mutter.

Nothing more than whisper and it seems almost eerie, echoing down to him.

_"...destroy them…?"_

A creak of an old floorboard, and he doesn't doubt that whoever it is has already heard him coming by now, and there's a sudden rustling of papers and-

Empty black eyes meet his own.

...

...

She tilted her head lazily back, neck bent to avoid looking at him directly. It's a suspiciously lazy glance. Too bored, too practiced, and he's met enough people to note the sharpness that edges into her gaze as he comes into her vision. There's a calculation there- one that he doesn't quite know how to describe because it's not similar to the viciousness that he's used to finding in predators- it's more… cold.

Like the icy chill of hypothermia, nipping and slow, but deadly all the same.

She kept her mouth closed, slightly bloody lips thinning as she kept a firm look ahead, not waning for even a moment. And she doesn't seem surprised to see him- expecting it almost, even though there's no windows in this room to see him approach from the outside.

The light from his lantern only serves to cast shadows on her.

It does her no favors.

She twitches and her eyes flick back to the file in her hand- the folder- and now that he's looking he can see the opened filing cabinets and the papers that she was going through.

There's something… off. About her.

He thinks it's partly done on purpose. Because as her eyes glance to the file in her hands it's only after the fact that her head slowly turns to follow. It's a stilted movement, one that he would almost describe as puppet-like and, if he didn't know any better, he would wonder whether or not Doflamingo was in the area. There's tension, like she's waiting for him to attack her, but she doesn't stop her ministrations- only slows them down as she flips through a couple papers before letting them fall back down one by one. It's a creepy behavior. Only perpetuated as she looks emptily at the cover of the file-

It's some of his notes, he knows that much; on some old diseases that he knew were only found in the latter half of the Grand Line. But, even with the rareness, they were only branches of commonly known illnesses. Nothing that would interest someone who wasn't a Doctor.

And oh- Crocus had instincts, and he knew when to trust them, and nothing in this woman screamed anything other than 'wrong, misplaced' and certainly nothing close to _doctor._ He distantly wondered how she could appear so corpse-like while still up and moving. Disconnected, eyes almost glazed in thoughts he wasn't privy to, and something told him that he probably wouldn't like the answer. Especially if those sleeves of her were anything to go by.

(He wasn't stupid. He knew what she wore those sleeves to hide. It was rare on the seas but not so much so in larger city communities and islands with significant Class division that he wouldn't know, as a doctor, exactly what she had going on. It was added too purposefully to her ensemble and anyone who knew what to look for would know immediately that there were scars hidden along her skin-

Something tells him that she's also entirely aware of that fact as well.

So, perhaps, the intent wasn't so much as to _hide_ as it was to keep eyes from lingering. An odd decision. And the strangeness of the woman only adds up more and more as he observes.)

She closes the folder and slides it back into place before pulling out the next, seemingly unbothered by the dim light or, hell, even his presence. Wispy hair flying astray from it's loose bun as she turns and revealing a scar on the back of her neck that reminds him a little of the many patients he'd had- kids and adults alike- who'd sustained similar injuries, though, perhaps, in easier to heal places.

"Can I help-?"

She holds up a finger.

It's the first sign of engaging with him that she's shown thus far so he lets it slide.

"Wealth. Fame. Power."

Crocus feels his whole body go rigid.

It's not the same- not even close- but it's the conjecture, the commonly written word that the newspaper circulated as propaganda directly afterwards.

She slides a finger in the filing cabinet, flicking between the innocuously labeled files.

"The Pirate King, Gold Roger. Or, rather, Gol D. Roger." And the clarification is enough to have his thought stalling. Her voice is smooth and carefully void of emotion but there's still a hint of steel. "Obtained this and everything else the world had to offer. The pirate's last words drove countless to the sea, claiming that- should anyone find it. They may have it. After all, he left everything there, in _One Piece_."

She hops onto the top of the cabinet, ankles crossing over one another and using the open draw as a place to loosely set them. There's already another selection of folders in her hands that she's perusing.

She licks her thumb to help her turn a particularly stuck page.

"A tale seventeen years old or so now, but one that's rather vague, don't you think? No first hand accounts. No useful information. No explanation for the how and why. Just a dead man and a disbanded pirate crew-" It's an exceedingly callous way of phrasing it and the only reason that it doesn't piss him off more than it already does is the careful voice she says it with. Inoffensive and realizing how it might be taken, the meaning is clear. "-now, I don't really care for conjecture. Nor do I care for rumors. And usually I'm one to let sleeping dogs lie but there's a secret or two in that story that I think is imperative to… an unfortunate situation I find myself in."

He scoffs. "If you're looking for information on the One Piece, brat, you-"

"Information, yes, but not nearly so obvious." She interrupts and- is this revenge for all the running gags he's pulled on people passing through in the last couple decades? "Tell me, does the world know about what helped drive Gol D. Roger to turn himself in or have the Marines really succeeded at keeping their lucky break quiet?"

Crocus is an old man.

One who has lived for many, many years and through many things but something inside him turns over in shock and he freezes. Because- She should not know that. There are very, very few people who should- Hell, even the majority of the old crew didn't know, but some stranger is-

"I'll cut to the chase: I want to know what it was."

"E… Ex _cuse_ … me?!"

"I want to know what would've killed the late Pirate King if he wasn't the kind of man to go out on his own terms." She's clasping her hands in front of her face now, shoulders hunch, folders tucked under her arms, but gaze unblinking. "Terminal, I assume. Treatable, for a time. Preventable? That's what I really wonder, though it's hardly the most important."

Rage boils inside of him. "You dare think that I-"

"I'm not asking to walk over his name." There's something soft and almost apologetic but her gaze is too hard for her to truly be repentant. "Or to spread rumors. Or anything of the sort. Truthfully, until the last hour or so, none of this had even crossed my mind, but it's a loose thread and one that's, unfortunately, a necessary evil," there's a grimace on her face and it's just enough to convey how much she dislikes being her that it has the anger loosening to a more curious route and his eyes narrow on her, "I take no pleasure in asking this, but I have to. So I'm only able to give it to you straight- I want- no, I absolutely need- the medical files pertaining to Roger and, as his former doctor, you're the only one I know of that would have any actual clue."

That last bit is a lie.

He gapes. The sheer… _audacity_ is astounding in itself.

"I am a Doctor, brat. Do you really think I would hand over the medical files pertaining to my crew. Much less to-"

"Does the name Portgas D. Rouge mean anything to you?"

It's said quickly, all in one breath, and her face pinches at her own words.

He's struck speechless.

"...why?"

"I'll take that as a yes. Tell me, my Captain, the one whose hat is on our flag, he looks familiar doesn't he? Maybe like a face you can't quite place?"

The ensuing silence is monstrous.

"...His name is Portgas D. Ace."

It only grows worse and she pulls one of the folders free once more and begins looking it over and he understands, finally. What all this is about.

"And I want to see if he's going to get sick."

...

...

Crocus stares.

The coloring is not unusual, he's seen it on quite a few people, but the parting of the hair is definitely familiar, the eyebrows and forehead too.

It explains why his first, gut feeling didn't have him thinking explicitly Roger though. Those features- they're hardly the most prominent. The freckles, for one, are a sporadic dusting that seems to distract from other parts- the slight droop and curve of the eyes, even if their Captain's colors, that's all Rouge right there. The nose is hers, the slope of his cheek bones, and the feminine curve of his face is already more than enough to throw him off but he can… He can see his Captain still. In his grin, in his brow, his hair, his- _everything._

Portgas D. Ace is fortunate in the fact that the majority of his features, the ones that get caught on first glance and are the most eye-catching, come from his mother but Crocus- who has seen the youth of his Captain and not from faded old posters like the majority of the world, can only take all of his appearance in and gape a little. Because he just screamed Roger's kid. Now that it's been pointed out to him.

Oh, he hasn't got the facial hair or the height- though that still may happen yet, extra growth in this world could come at later, unexpected ages compared to the majority of humans after all- but it's frankly obvious now that it's been insinuated.

How could he have _missed_ it-? For even a second?!

"Oy, Quinn, who's this?"

"This is Crocus." Quinn- and, now that he knew her name, he would make sure that he wouldn't forget it. She's smiling like there's absolutely nothing wrong in the world to the short redheads question and then turns to his Captain's son like she hasn't just been asking medical questions about him behind his back. "He's a Doctor that lives in Laboon, the whale."

His eyes sharpen.

He hadn't told her that.

("I'm sorry, but where the _fuck_ did you just say he lived?")

"I met him when I broke into the lighthouse."

There's sputtering. _"-You broke into the lighthouse-?!"_

If anything, the smile turns into a full blown grin. She's way too pleased with herself.

And Captain's son- Ace, he tries to remind himself- gapes for a moment before falling into laughter that's- it's too familiar. Just a bit too much and something in him shudders as Ace cuts himself off and stumbles forward into a-

Into a bow? Of all things?

"My apologies for my crewmate, sir, Quinn's more of a wild card than I had guessed." He guesses that's one way to describe her. "I'm sure she didn't mean anything _too_ bad about breaking into your lighthouse." That's a fun way of saying that he doesn't give a shit. "At least, now, you'll know to keep better locks."

_Wow._

This…

_Absolute little shit._

There's an approving glance from the swordsman at his words. Quinn's expression flattens and Crocus isn't sure but he thinks she's trying not to laugh. There's no doubt about it now- if there was _any_ in the first place after taking a good look at the kid- this is definitely the Captain and Rouge's son.

Yet, somehow, Ace manages to say it all in the tone of someone who seems honestly apologetic and trying to be helpful.

If Crocus didn't know any better he might've even been fooled.

But know better he did.

"Brat." There's a fondness building that he can't help, especially when Ace grins sunnily up at him and it's oh-so-painfully-familiar. "And here I was thinking of helping with your ship problem."

Quinn's gaze snaps to him but the smile doesn't fall, even as her eyes narrow as she clearly tries to figure out what his game is. The truth is, Crocus doesn't know much either. He huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. "I know a thing or two about carpentry. Had to learn in order to help Laboon, a ship like this is no problem."

"Really?! You'll help?"

"Hm. The sooner you get your ship fixed, the sooner you're out of my hair."

-0-

Crocus lounges as the quartet flounders at his sharply shouted directions.

"Man, if you're gonna offer to help, I figured you'd be down here actually lending a hand…" Kat, as he soon learned his name after their first meeting, mutters. "Not reading a newspaper."

He scoffs. "I'm getting on in years. And you kids could do to learn this stuff yourselves."

Spice snorts, patting the kid on the head. "Let the old man rest, Kat, his old bones need all the rest he can get. We don't want our guide to keel over from overwork now, do we?"

Crocus gives him a flat look.

"Get back to work. _Brat._ "

Spice smirks, hopping away to help Ace and Quinn nail in one of the higher repairs that neither of them could quite reach.

Crocus doesn't go out of his way to talk to his Captain's son, can't quite bring himself to. Only stands back and observes him as he bounces off of the others and unexpectedly falls asleep, only to get caught by his intimidating first mate or his swordsman before he can hit the ground. It was entertaining, watching him and watching how his crew jumped to have his back- the crew he gathered so far, they seemed like a good, if small, bunch and that was even with Crocus being biased and disliking his first mate.

She, notably, was distracted by his watchful presence and he'd caught her, more than once, stealing a glance his way when she wasn't busy mooning over the Captain's son, having the Fishman boy moon over her, or arguing with the swordsman. It was a weird dynamic they had but one that seemed to work for them and didn't seem to cause many problems- though there was an odd sort of tension between her and Spice. With her seemingly avoiding him and Spice eyeing her with an unhappy look every now and then.

Ace, however, and Crocus couldn't help but focus on him, struggling to even pay attention to anything else, didn't seem to be affected by any of it.

"Hey, Quinn, pass that over here, yeah?"

"Heads up!"

He was a kid that seemed to grin a lot- not smile, and yes, there was a difference, because a grin was far more mischievous compared to a smile- and Crocus tried not to see his Captain's face when he looked at him. It was made easier because, honestly, Ace didn't seem to take after him as much as he did Rouge- he was much quieter, more determined, and had an observing gaze that spoke of a well-practiced protectiveness as he watched over his crew.

He seemed to get along with them all just fine.

Quinn and Ace could be found poking fun at one another or snickering over something as they knocked into each other. The two were comfortable with each other. In a way that most crew's never learnt to be, and he didn't know if it was just time spent together or the girl's building attachment that had it developing. Ace and Spice, and Crocus thinks this is more due to Spice being obviously the most recent recruit, were probably the least personable with each other from what he could tell but there was a warrior's respect between them that told Crocus all he needed to know. They would work well together, both on and off the battlefield. And watching Ace with Kat, who seemed to have a brother-sister relationship going on with Quinn, told him that the crew's youngest was in a position that reminded him a tad of his own old crew's relationship with the Red Hair-brat and the Buggy-brat.

"Kat, ready?!"

"You bet!"

"Spice?"

"Let's just go already."

They also seemed to be pretty adept at working off of one another. If the three-way battle royale the men were starting was anything to go off of. It was pretty interesting to watch, especially as they began and Crocus learned quickly that Ace had eaten a Devil Fruit- a fire logia too, from the looks of it, which was an impressive find- and that the fire was complemented nicely by Katsura's Fishman Jujitsu and Spice's more traditional fighting prowess.

It was a break from working on the ship after hours and hours of tearing down their mistakes and redoing the repairs until they were of Crocus's standards. They weren't quite done yet. But they were much better off than they were before.

Quinn stood in silence, saddling up next to his seat and staring off to where Laboon swam in laps off in the distance rather than at the fighting. The great waves produced by his tail washing water up over the edge of the cape's rocks and, while not getting close enough to soak anyone's shoes, it was still enough to make the ground slippery. Worsened by Kat's own hand and sending both Ace and Spice to the ground as they slipped on the rocks.

Crocus, when it became clear that she hadn't planned to speak, said, "All this to figure out if Roger's sickness is genetic."

He can see the muscles in her cheeks tense as she grits her teeth and looks around for her crew. Relaxing only when she makes notes of each of their locations, far enough away that none of them would be able to hear their quiet conversation that was already a few days coming.

"I have nothing to lose." She affirms.

"Girl, are you daft-? There's always something you can lose."

This is what he hated about rookies. They were either overconfident and arrogant or they were too busy burning the candle at both ends to care about consequence.

"Okay, let me rephrase then," she sounds dry, voice flat, and Crocus can't help but snort, "I have nothing I wouldn't be willing to lose."

"Tch." She was definitely in the latter category. "An attitude like that is gonna get you killed one of these days."

"Mm-hm." It was rather annoying listening to just how… done she sounded. As if he was the one causing trouble for her and not the other way around. Speaking of which: "Have you thought about what I want? It doesn't even have to be specific. Just the one thing and anything from, like, a family history standpoint that Ace _should_ have already. You know, in case of emergencies."

See, that was another problem that he had with this rookie in particular. She was of startling sound mind and her reasoning was… frustratingly understandable. When she wasn't creeping around lighthouses and being mildly threatening, she was downright reasonable. And logical.

It pissed Crocus off to no end.

Because, now that they'd decided that the other wasn't going to try anything, Quinn had asked for the medical files not with Roger in mind but rather- in concern of her Captain's families medical history which he should, naturally, be made aware of. Because- of course!- he had a "right to medical information that can affect his own health."

The problem was that she was correct but Crocus wasn't happy about it.

"Anyone ever tell you that the road to hell is paved with good intentions?"

"Is that why I hear that hell has all the best company then?"

Cheeky brat. He ignores her, "There a reason he hasn't come up asking about this if it's oh-so important then?"

"Ace wouldn't ask for help from some stranger. He's got too much pride and ego to do that."

"That's not all."

"...mnh, well," she huffs, head bowing in an attempt to hide behind her hair, "he _may_ not know that you were once a member of the King's crew."

That begs the question of how _she_ knew then.

"And-" She bites her lip here. In that bad habit that he'd seen multiple times already. "A-And he… doesn't know that I know. About him and the King."

Crocus stares at her.

Quinn adds, quietly: "He has a complicated relationship with the King."

"I had assumed he'd told you."

"...No. I figured it out on my own. I was- I _am_ , I mean, waiting for him to tell me himself. To trust me enough to."

"Oh? And you're doing yourself a favor by telling me- a stranger?"

He expected that it'd cause her to jump in realization or, at the very least, take on a guilty expression but there was no such thing. Not even the slightest glimmer. Only the curve of her mouth into a winning smile that didn't let him see anything, not even an idea of the thoughts going on in her head, "Oh, no, no, no. Of course not. Whenever did I say that he was… who he is. I think if you'll look back I hardly said a word to it. It's not my fault you figured it out because of a non-sequitur. After all, it's only expected that a crew be able to recognize his Captain's son, don't you think?"

"That's… a dangerous game you're playing, girl. People have called others traitors for less."

 _That_ seems to finally get to her. Because she noticeably falters. "...I don't care much what people think of me. I only care about the well-being of Ace- and of the crew."

"That's a good way to get yourself into a mutiny."

"Excuse me?"

He snorts. "It's a slippery slope, brat, your heads a bit too big for your shoulders, isn't it?"

She scoffs.

Honestly, these rookies were going to be the death of him.

There's a shriek from Katsura as he ducks under a blast of fire from Ace and proceeds to try and drown him with a wave, completely snuffing any flames that Ace could hope to create. They were certainly making a mess of things, weren't they? Quinn snickered at them and then laughed, though she was quick to cut it off and try to hide it, when Spice jumped in and smacked Katsura in the back with the flat of his blade.

"Not going to join them?"

She shrugs. "I, uh. Was actually going to ask for a favor."

"Presumptuous."

"Yeah, I know." She seems frustrated that she was even asking in the first place. "It's not big, I just- I broke my arm awhile ago and I-" Yes, he can see her cast. It's slightly mangled and distended from where water had gotten on it and started to bend it out of shape. If it wasn't for the brace keeping everything forcibly in place, it would almost be doing more harm than good but he knew how hard it was to get regular and necessary medical attention when one was constantly on the go. Especially when good doctors were hard to come by. "-was wondering if you'd take a look at it? I'm supposed to take the cast off today."

Other than reading the Sora Warrior of the Sea section for the third time he doesn't have anything better to do so he supposes that he can at least do this.

"Alright, let's remove it."

She freezes as he goes to reach for her arm, "A-Aa, actually, can we take this somewhere private?" Yeah, he supposes that reaction is understandable, especially as it has her crossing her arms in an attempt to pull them in and hide them away from prying eyes. She sends another nervous glance towards her crew.

"Another thing you've decided to hide from them?"

The look she gives him is notably unimpressed.

...

...

Her hands don't shake. Not really. There's not even the slightest bit of a tremble, barely even a whiff of hesitation, as Quinn fumbles with the sleeve she's somehow managed to roll over her cast instead of just finding some baggy long sleeved shirt which would've been much easier-

Crocus doesn't offer her much more than a glance, refusing to stare at the marks that marr her skin. Even if they were put there by her own self, it wasn't his place to dissect her with his gaze and offer platitudes.

It only serves to help her relax in his presence, where she had been so tense before- wound up like a spring and ready to bounce at the first sign of him doing something she didn't like. Which, he supposes, is only fair.

He's a little offended that she would think he would be anything other than professional.

"Need help?"

"I think I got it."

It wasn't like he had the circular saw that most Doctors used when removing casts but, with the cast already as mangled as it is, he thinks the large, well-sharpened scissors she'd pulled out would be enough. It's a trying process and frustrating to watch because he would already have it off by now if she didn't insist on doing herself. Which, again, was fair considering Crocus wouldn't want someone that he didn't exactly trust to bring sharp things anywhere close to his skin- even if it was for a good reason.

The remains of the cast fall away in chunks and Crocus looks her arm over, muttering, "No clear deformities… there's bruising and the scab is… Here. Let me. I don't want you to break it open."

He grabbed the wet sponge that she'd already wetted. The cast had fallen away to reveal fuzz from its placement and a thick layer of dead skin that'd built up from the process, he was sure that her arm was terribly itchy and irritated from it all, and he didn't want her to irritate it more- or, even worse, break off the thick scab that had grown to cover the area where bone had pierced through and sutures that had definitely stayed in for too long were still stuck- when she tried to clean it off.

Crocus pointedly doesn't mention the many lines of thin, white scar-tissue that reveal themselves, standing out like beacons against her brown skin. Even as his subconscious, medical fueled part of his mind supplies unwanted information.

_Lacerations from tendons in wrist to mid-bicep. Sporadic, yet purposeful._

_Scars are old. Freshest one is_ maybe _several years old._

_Small, circular burns within the cubital area. Most likely as a result of cigarettes._

From the position and angle of the scars, and the areas that they're found, they were most likely gained from her own ha-

Crocus shuts down his brain. Instead, he focuses intently on the still healing area from where her arm had been broken through her skin and shattered. He can say, for certain, that she's lucky to still have her arm. He carefully wipes the sponge over the lines of sutures that he'd have to remove soon. The wound was not a fun one and he could definitely see how bad it had been. He wouldn't be surprised to learn that the Doctors that'd worked on her had all but stapled her bone back together in an attempt to keep everything in place.

"You're going to need to keep the brace on it. For another month or so." But that was much easier to work with, it was mostly just belted straps to support everything and keep it running smooth. "And it's going to be notably weaker for a good long while. You'll have to do some exercises to get it back up to speed."

Quinn sighs, "Physical therapy. Yay. That's what I was afraid of." Absolutely deadpan.

"Teaches you to not break your arm next time."

"It was a trying situation! I was lucky to get out with just my arm broken and not- something worse."

"Says the weakling."

She falls silent. Having noticeably deflated.

Crocus doesn't offer another comment. Just goes back to inspecting her arm. All in all, it's healed rather nicely, and he's a little surprised, with something as bad as this, and with as terrible as her cast had gotten due to conditions, that she hadn't been worse off or, hell, even gotten an infection.

The wound was a wonky, slightly curved X-shape, with the right upper part of the diagonal petering off at a shaky W-like zigzag and the bottom of the other diagonal on the right side falling into a messed up lowercase F-shape. It was definitely going to leave a scar. Hell, he could still see the bruises from when she'd gotten it. Her skin was a mix of yellows, blues, and purples and broken blood vessels.

It was a bursting mark.

An unusual one, but he'd seen enough similar injuries- or injuries along the same lines- that he had a good idea of how it was going to end up looking.

Quinn grunted, running her opposite hand through her hair as she brought her knee up to her chest. She was stuck sitting on the bathroom sink within the Stellar because it was the only place that offered a good amount of privacy and would keep the others from immediately stumbling upon them on the off chance that they happened to come inside while Crocus was still looking her arm over. "It's going to take like a year to fully heal. I just know it."

Crocus rolls his eyes.

She sure is a dramatic one.

(He's unaware of her seriousness in that statement. As, even once it heals, Quinn will likely find the scab still struggling to disappear as the days stretch onwards. Far past the point that it would take most people to heal completely within this world.)

Crocus tilts her arm this way and that, brows shooting up in thought.

"Something on your mind?"

"...Hm."

"Just say it."

"This wound- it looks an awful lot like the scar on the back of your neck, doesn't it?"

Quinn winces, "...That's the _one_ scar I really didn't want you to mention."

Odd, he figured that, out of all of them, it would be the one she wouldn't care much about. But he can't help but note the similarities beginning to arise and how experience tells him that the one on her arm will soon turn to look like it as well.

Crocus changes the subject. "I'm going to need to remove the sutures."

Quinn groans.

...

...

"Where's Quinn going with Crocus?"

It's asked between dodging and Kat rolling beneath a rather pathetic shooting of Ace's fire before being forced to jump back from Spice's sword coming down where he once stood. There's a lot of moving and running around involved and he can't find a chance to attack as he's forced to move around- he doesn't know how, or why, but Ace and Spice both seem to have come to the conclusion that he was currently the most threatening of their whole group. Now- for Ace- he understood it, his water was a major threat to his fruit, but for Spice?

Kat didn't get it. But he would be lying if he said that he didn't think it was flattering.

"No idea-" Ace grunts, not even bothering to look up.

And Spice growls: "If you have time to talk, you have time to fight back. Stop getting distracted, let's go!"

Kat frowns, even if he supposes that Spice is right. There's something funny going on with him and Quinn and Spice seems to grow less and less tolerant of mentioning her as they went on and- quite honestly- Kat just couldn't figure out what it was all about. Not really. Not even after that conversation they'd had before Spice presented her with the tanto.

He didn't think she was strong enough or something, but Kat just… didn't _get it-_ Quinn had defeated the Mime! If he had a problem with her for being weak, he should have the same problem with him because Kat had been… he'd been completely unable to stand up to the Mime, much less win.

And when he'd mentioned the conflict to Ace in passing, he'd only gotten a confused look and questions about it that he didn't know how to answer, so now Kat was left wondering if all the tension he was seeing was all in his own head.

He didn't think so. Not really. But it was hard not to think that when he just didn't know what to make of it all.

"She said Crocus was a Doctor, right? Aa- _watch it_!" Kat narrowly rolled away from another hit from Spice and flicked a wave that sent him nearly careening into the ocean. Huh. Maybe there was a good reason why they were focusing on him after all. "Sorry!"

"Don't apologize, that was good!"

"Chehaha!"

A free-for-all fight like this was way more fun than he thought it would be. Once Quinn's arm was all fixed he couldn't wait to get her in on this action, it sucked that they wouldn't be able to do this again for a while because they couldn't exactly do it on the ship- it was much too small for the _three_ of them, much less the four of them. "-GAH?!

Ouch, well, maybe it would be more fun if Ace hadn't just kneed him off the edge of the cape.

Kat gasps, thrown back so far that he surprises Laboon off the edge of the shore and causes the whale to dive beneath the surface to get away. Not that Kat was in a much better place. Nearly knocked away by Laboon rushing off. "Holy crap, ow." That hurt. Shit, no wonder Quinn had thrown up from his hit earlier, Kat could still feel his stomach aching and cramping from the sudden kick and an odd lurching feeling that- _"Oh, whoops, still underwater."_ He nearly facepalmed himself. Having missed the sudden change of breathing air to breathing water as well as the muddled sunlight breaking through the water's surface instead of being warm against his face.

Wow, and he was deep down to.

Kat eyed the rocky mountain side that stretches down into the ocean below.

He sucks in a deep breath through his gils, exhaling bubbles of carbon monoxide that begin to drift lazily up to the surface. The waters were broken by Laboon's tail and Kat offered him a shaky grin as the mountain sized whale eyes him up curiously, sidling up next to him now that he'd realized that he wasn't some mysterious threat- he was never going to get over the fact that Crocus had been living inside his stomach, even if he had explained the how's and why's. If it wasn't for Quinn backing up his story, Kat wouldn't have believed it.

_"H-Hey there, Mr. Laboon. Is it just me or are the currents here getting real cra~zy?"_

Aw man, he was so awkward.

There's a high pitched chirp in response and Katsura feels his grin bloom, growing stronger.

At least Laboon was a smart whale.

A nice one too and, if he wasn't mistaken, Kat thinks he can see a slight smile in his eye.

_"Sorry about running into you with the ship a couple days ago, I didn't realize you were there and I couldn't turn us around in time."_

Another chirp.

 _"Ace is kinda pissed but- aa! I don't really blame you."_ He brings a finger up to his lips. _"Don't tell him I said that though. I think he'd yell at me for… I don't know. Commiserating with the enemy or something. He's kinda dramatic… A-Ah! Not that that's a bad thing! Ouh-!_

He giggles as Laboon chirps happily.

He jumps- "Oy, Kat! You okay?!" -as the muddled voice of Ace calls down from up above. There was a slightly worried note to it and Kat cursed himself, he'd been underwater for far longer than normal people would've been and, after a punt like Ace had hit him with, they'd be understandably concerned and-

Kat feels a little guilty at the giddy feeling that blooms in his chest as a result of it.

_"Oh, shoot, talk to you later. I gotta go back to Ace and Sp… ice…"_

He trailed off, blinking rapidly as something moved across the distance. If he'd turned even a moment later, he would've missed it. And, Kat squints, feeling something in his stomach drop unnaturally as he tries to make it out- joined by a curious Laboon- the dark shadowy shape growing larger.

_"He… y, that's not fair… y-you're not supposed to be here- Wait- Hey, HEY!"_

...

...

"I didn't kill him, did I?"

Ace makes a guilty face, looking off into the area of the ocean where Kat had hit and hadn't come back up from. Spice, having tossed his sword to lay over his shoulder, scratching his cheek and looking incredibly nonchalant despite Ace's worry.

"Yes, Ace. You killed the one person _who can breathe underwater_ by tossing him in the ocean." Spice deadpans. Unhelpfully. "It's rather impressive actually. You managed to _drown_ the un-drownable. Really, a testament to us all."

_"Hey."_

Ace sighed, leaning further and further over the edge of the rocks. Unaware of Spice stepping closer to watch him on the off chance that he falls. There were a couple dark shadows in the water- but it didn't look like Kat was struggling or dead from the way he was moving so Ace wasn't too worried about it. "...What do you think it's like down there?"

"When you're not holding your breath, probably pretty amazing." Spice hums. "Think of all the rare species of fish I could find…"

Ace grinned up at him, tearing his gaze away from the water. "Think of all the awesome meals you could make me with them!"

"Heh. Only for you-?"

Ace is turned, so he doesn't see it, but he hears it and, with watching Spice's face like he is, he gets to watch the moment his chef's face slackens in shock and he begins to pull his sword free and- There's a wave of water, it crashes down into the rocks and washes over them and-

"The hell was that-?!" Ace wheezes, spitting up saltwater and blinking wildly, trying to shake the momentary weakness the drenching had caused- limbs feeling heavy and strangely boneless. He looks a lot like a deranged, drenched cat actually. Hair sticking up and eyes wild as he hisses and scrambles away from the edge he'd been hanging over, lest he get pulled off by the force of the stray waves and sucked into the ocean. "Kat?!"

He whips around in search of his navigator because- who else would be throwing a wave around like that other than him and, maybe Laboon if he'd pissed off the whale. But, finally finding him, he has the sudden feeling that both those possibilities are wrong.

Ace blinks drops of water away, "...Kat?"

Kat's laid out on the rocks, thrown onto his back and coughing and hacking up seawater violently as he uses his elbows to sit himself up. His claws are hanging from his wrist, the strap of one clutched in a fist, like he hadn't been able to get it back on quick enough to defend himself, if the bloody nose he was sporting was anything to go by. "That's not fair- I beat you, you weren't supposed to follow me-!"

"BAO _OOOA-!_ "

Oh, that sounded familiar.

"Isn't that-?"

Yep, it was.

Ace and Kat were greeted by the familiar goat-like face of the Beast. Coarse matted fur, blood covered face, sliced and scored with deep scratches that could only have come from Kat's own hands. The howl that it belts out is low and echoing, it sounds like thunder almost actually- a crashing crescendo that extended far beyond its point of origin.

"You _know_ this thing-?!" Spice wheezed, coughing up a gallop of water himself, he'd stuck his sword into the ground in order to stay anchored to where he'd been standing.

It doesn't really matter.

Because, before anything could happen, an angry Laboon surges up from the ocean with a great chirping shriek and grabs the serpent by its neck, throttling it back down and into the ocean and sending up an even bigger wave then bigger-

"Ah, shit."

Forget seeing what was happening, Ace would be lucky just to hang onto the rocks.

"Hey- wait!" Katsura shouted, wiping his arm across his face and smearing blood all over himself, he sounded muffled and snotty and horribly congested. The Beast had gotten a good hit in, headbutting him so hard that he was launched straight out of the water and back on the rocks. Kat was being tossed around everywhere today, wasn't he?

It hurt getting up, his legs were shaky and, as he went to stand, they folded out from beneath him, sending him to his knees.

He gritted his teeth, tongue catching on the sharp point and drawing even more blood to add to the bunch but Kat can't bring himself to care. Not even to react. He's too overcome with a building confusion and anger that has him baring his teeth and glaring so harshly that it was hard to see or, perhaps, that was due to the frustrated tears beginning to build.

Kat didn't know. He just didn't want the Beast here, following him, and trying to reinsert himself in his life.

"-You had your chance! Plenty of chances!" He snarled as the Beast wailed from Laboon's attacks, trying to stay above water. "Go back home Quagga!"

It's rather anticlimactic actually.

Kat huffs- though even to his own ears it sounds whimpery, and Laboon tosses the Beast- Quagga- away from the shoreline and away from him and, with one long last belted note that Kat can't make sense of, he dives away. Leaving nothing but a trail of harsh currents and a triumphant Laboon chirping his victory.

"Damn it, Qua- uagga…!" Kat wiped the frustrated tears away, hands trembling. "It's too late for you to follow me now."

And then, there was silence.

Or there was, until Quinn and Crocus came out from within the ship, both looking harried and the former intensely bewildered, and just… stared at the lot of them.

She almost didn't want to ask.

"What happened?"

"That Beast-thing from Kat's island showed up and Laboon chased it off!"

Quinn… stares, then turns to the still staring off in the distance Katsura, whose face is bruised and covered in blood and who looks like he wants to punch something and then lay in bed for a couple hours. "...And this is why we teach the importance of the double-tap, kids."

"Y-Yeah," Kat's voice cracks, "sure…"

She winces.

"A-Aa…"

There's no sign of Quagga anymore. Just the sun lowering on the horizon.

-0-

Ace doesn't think much about the old dude.

Quinn vouched for him so he guesses he's okay. Probably. Maybe. He doesn't know. She seems like a good judge of character. But, after that, he hadn't really thought much of him. The whole "Living In A Whale" thing was weird and cool but when Ace had asked him about it he'd only stared him down until it got awkward to the point that Ace had been forced to slowly back away until he was out of sight- which had… which had, admittedly, Quinn dying of laughter and burying her face in a snickering Katsura's shirt so he probably wasn't as bothered by it as he normally would be. And, even with that particular bout of confusing awkwardness, only made weirder and slightly creepy by the fact that Ace kept catching the old man looking at him like he was some kind of unusual specimen to examine, Ace had kinda withheld an opinion on him-

He just didn't know what to make of him. It didn't help that there seemed to be some odd sort of building tension between him and Quinn and, ever since they landed on the cape, Quinn kept giving Ace her own set of strange glances- he didn't even know what to describe them as. He just knew that he didn't like them.

It had an odd pit forming in his stomach and his instincts a confused mess of him either; wanting to look away and hide his face, or run up to her and pull her away from whatever it was that was… causing her to look at him like _that._

But Crocus had been helpful and kind and, for that, he had a modicum of Ace's respect. Even if he was suspicious as to _why_ he was helping out without asking for anything seemingly in return in the first place.

Well, that was as far as Ace knew. He didn't know what he and Quinn had talked about before he'd been introduced.

Hell-! He'd even asked her and Quinn had just shrugged, looking slightly confused on why he was even asking, and said: "I just met with him? I mean, it probably wasn't the best introduction because, like, I broke into his place and was screaming: _Oh shit_ , internally, the whole time. So-!" And that had been that.

Or, Ace had thought that had been all of it, until he'd looked over his shoulder to see Crocus giving her a look that could only be described as annoyed, fed up, and mildly impressed about something he probably didn't want to find all that impressive.

He also, in turning around, misses the glare Quinn shoots Crocus and the argument happening with their eyes over his head but that's neither here nor there.

The lack of information, lack of understanding of what was happening behind the scenes, all of that is what leads to Ace taking Crocus to the side- once their ship has been, finally, repaired and seemingly everything back together despite the Quagga-shaped hiccup that seems to have smacked Katsura in the face, both literally and figuratively- and offering him a smile and a bow. It's not too deep, just enough to express his sincerity, just as Makino had taught him, because as much as Ace doesn't like not knowing what's happening exactly, he's not so much an asshole (cough, _anymore_ , cough) that he couldn't still thank Crocus for the help he did provide.

If he had known what would come out of his mouth next though, he would have never, ever, even thought of offering anything- much less his _thanks_ of all things.

"You should tell them."

Ace blinks, eyes opening to stare down at the ground and at his feet, before a bemused smirk is sliding across his face and he lifts his gaze up. It's slow, languid movements- because he doesn't quite understand, at first, what Crocus is even alluding to. "Sorry? Tell who what?"

He assumes he means his crew but Ace doesn't have an idea about what Crocus would think he should tell him-

"You know, you don't look like him much but I can still see him in you."

-Ace's thoughts stutter.

"I…" No, that can't be right. He shakes his head and narrows his suddenly darkening gaze and something like ice starts to settle over him. " _You._ "

Dimly, Crocus is impressed, a look like that- now that was the gaze of a predator. That was someone on the prowl and someone who knew how to be intimidating and knew how to bite.

The kid looks murderous. Crocus doesn't doubt that he is. It's a tugging pull on his tail a tad too harsh compared to what the kid is probably used to- as, if he was a smart one, and Crocus was willing to bet that he was given that he's survived this long, nobody would have been able to figure it out. _Should_ have been able to figure it out.

It stands to question how Quinn knew but Crocus knows better than to ask the kid how he slipped up in front of that particular one if even _he_ doesn't know that he did.

"Me." Crocus responds flatly, upsetting whatever careful balance had been in place, watching as Ace's teeth bare and he takes an intimidating step forward. He has to hand it to him, really, he might have even taken a step back if he was anyone lesser. "It wasn't that hard to see, once I noticed-" Once it'd been pointed out. "-after all, I spent quite a few years with the man myself."

Ace grits his teeth.

Looking more and more like he's planning to bash his skull in and, if it wasn't for the whisper-shout in his voice, due to his crew being just a couple hops away, he might've already done so. _"How? When?"_

"That crewmate of yours introduced me as a Doctor, didn't she? Wonder who it was for?"

Ace tenses, shoulders coming up to hug his neck, as his pupils dilated to horrified pinpricks. He looks like something out of his nightmares has just been realized because he's paled a paper white and his eyes shift to spy said-crewmember with a shaky, desperate fervor.

"You…" the whisper isn't just for secrecy now, it's too mortified and shameful and it has Crocus frowning and wondering what had been done to him for him to take on _that_ tone of voice with just a mention, "...You didn't tell her, did you?"

"No. I didn't."

A part of him wants to tell him that she already knows. Wants to emphasize the point in his words, but Crocus has already rocked the boat, regrettably, more than he should have if the immediate, heart-stopping relief that washes over his face is anything to go by. So he doesn't ruin it, doesn't say a word. And Ace takes another threatening step forward, fisting the collar of his shirt and rearing back for what could've only been a punch but Crocus did not travel the entirety of the New World for nothing.

Still, he lets him have this.

Crocus takes the first punch like a man. Doesn't even flinch. Even if there's enough force behind it that it would've killed most people in one shot.

"You should tell them-"

_"Fuck you!"_

"You should tell them." He repeats, as calmly as he's been throughout this entire confrontation. It has Ace faltering, teeth gritting between wild eyes and he's already gearing to punch him again. "At least that girl of yours."

Apparently, unfortunately, that appears to be one of the worst things he could've said- even if Crocus is _right_ and he knows that he is. He also knows that he's throwing the brat under the proverbial bus as well, because Ace would also be confronting her with her hidden knowledge and she'd have to come clean or dig herself a deeper hole. And, quite honestly, Crocus didn't know which she would choose because he was growing more and more certain by the day that she knew much more than she let on -Ace simply snarls.

"Ace…?"

Crocus closes his eyes.

And thinks: Oh, she's good. She's much too good.

Just the right amount of curious innocence and defensive, righteous fury at whoever pissed off her Captain- though Crocus knew where that anger was truly coming from if that suspicious gleam in her eyes was anything to go by- that it has Ace faltering, caught in a fight that he didn't want to be noticed.

The timings too perfect, her stance too ready and practiced, her hand hovering over the hilt of her tanto but not quite close enough that it makes him think that she actually believes she might need it-

Crocus has to wonder if she was ever an actor. There's too many details that he also has to wonder where the fake meets the real- some of that has to be more than a lie. It just depended on what parts of it.

Ace gapes, clearly not knowing how to react- for a second, Crocus thinks he's going to yell at her, in another second, he thinks it's going to be another punch to the face, and then Ace's face screws up- scrunches and furrows in such frustration that it has him, literally, smoking in deep-seated rage that Crocus is almost one-hundred percent certain that he plans on just setting him on fire and being done with it. Shockingly, none of that happens.

"Tell her," he growls, fist tightening in his shirt, "tell any of them, and you're dead."

And then Crocus is being let go and Ace is stomping away, leaving a trail of burnt footprints in his wake.

"Quinn, we're leaving!"

"...right."

Ace is already gone, not checking back, even as Quinn stalls for a moment, shooting him a dark look, before going to follow and- "Why wait?"

"Huh?"

"Why wait for him to tell you first?"

She purses her lips, looks at him a little like he's asking a question with a rather obvious answer. "Because if he doesn't trust me enough to tell me himself, I don't deserve to know it."

"That, at least, we can agree on."

-0-

Quinn didn't imagine it to feel as good as it did.

Oh, it had her heart hammering in her chest, her legs shaky, and a certain amount of weakness just waiting for her to collapse, but it also had her breath catching and her fingers tightening as she desperately held onto the folder tucked beneath her arm-

It may have resulted in Crocus hating her, and, really, Quinn didn't need any more enemies in the Grand Line than what she was already bound to get, but that didn't seemingly matter. Quite honestly, Quinn didn't care. Hell, she couldn't even bring herself to feel guilty because Crocus had to admit that- even if she went about it in a way that he didn't like and called borderline traitorous, though she didn't really see how he'd jumped to that conclusion- she was _right._

Ace deserved access to his family's medical history.

Oh, the files were old, somewhat outdated and dilapidated, and not the most detailed but that was fine. The names and dates were all blacked out, as well as any identifying information redacted on the copies aside from fairly common traits, but Quinn would've gone through and done that herself if Crocus hadn't done it already for her.

There was even a little on Rouge! Admittedly, very, very little. Quinn wasn't sure exactly how she fit into the story even still- (Civilian? Pirate? Revolutionary? Marine? Whoever knew.) -and she didn't dare read more than to make sure everything important was hidden away and everything else was put where it needed to be.

She was right. She was _right!_ And she-

She felt bad.

Ace is left virtually silent except for short barking words that he offers only sparingly between an air of gloom and mulishness and Quinn's oddly blank facedness and watchfulness doesn't help his decreasing mood, acting more like a sentinel than anything else and unwittingly winning a few points back in Spice's book and losing them in Crocus's and- She feels bad. Not terribly so. But it's creeping up on her even if she didn't feel like she'd done much wrong.

She'd been dealt a nasty hand and she'd done what she could with it.

That was all.

"Damn it, _damnnn…_ it!" But still- somehow, Crocus was getting to her with his remarks and, now that she was thinking about it, Spice probably was too. "I'm stupid, aren't I?"

She bites her lip, chews on it.

It doesn't matter much, in the end.

There were too many loose threads and plots and thoughts in her head for her to really devote enough of herself into caring about their own thoughts of her, or to even really think on the accusations they'd both given her- because Quinn had meant it when she said her plans for the future involved nothing but the well-being of the crew.

"Case in point…"

The memory of Roger's sickness had been one she'd been quick to dismiss or, it would've been, if she hadn't also realized that she had absolutely zero-clue as to what it was and that Ace had died young- much too young to figure out if any problems from his father side had carried over or, hell, even from his mother's side. And Quinn didn't think this world had the best grasp on genetics but it still would've been a concern, not knowing medical history like that- especially whatever sickness it was that helped to take down a man like _The King_ , like _Roger-_ even though Quinn had first assumed that it wasn't genetic. Or, at least, she'd thought that Ace didn't have a chance of getting it, when there was no apparent explanation to her memory.

...She's not leaving it up to that assumption.

She's also not leaving it up to a story that she doesn't even know if she can trust the accuracy of. Though, given how things were going, so long as she didn't majorly mess up anything, she thinks she was good.

She really can't help the broad smile that spreads at the sight of the files.

It's triumphant, maybe a tad evil, but at least she'll know for sure now, the possibility of genetics killing Ace if the Marine's don't get to him first- if Teach doesn't- was too likely to ignore.

Now, all she needed was to wait for a Doctor to join the crew and then she could give them the files, asking for even more discretion, and everything should be fine. Smooth sailing, right? Right?

Ah, who was she kidding?

Quinn had the terrible feeling that everything was going to go horribly wrong. But, perhaps, just this once, maybe that was the paranoia talking. The chewing on her lip just grows harsher and harsher. More and more worried and even more nervous as anxiety pools in her gut as she glances at the files that she'd somehow- impossibly!- managed to abscond with. They were a disaster waiting to happen.

It was like holding ticking time bombs in her hands. And it's a bomb that she'll even be setting the timer to and strapping to her shoulders because-

"...Oh."

Quinn stares at the opened file in her hands, blinks slowly. Once. Twice. And then closes it and tucks it away.

_Oh._

Is all she can really think to say- mind blank as she looks at the dawning sun from the ship's railing, the gently crashing waves of the Grand Line's beginning playing softly on her ears and helping to lull her thoughts back into calmer waters.

"Quinn, we're going to weigh anchor!"

"Mnh, okay."

Seems she had her answer then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quinn getting caught: O.O
> 
> Quinn, talking, internally: omg stfu STFU why are you running your mouth- hE HaS A HaRPoON-?!
> 
> Then, Quinn from Crocus point of view: *is the female titan at first appearance*
> 
> And, because I've been getting this a lot, DON'T WORRY Quinn is gonna get stronger. I know the Luck Luck fruit can get super OP and has a lot of capabilities, she's going to be getting pretty capable sooner or later. I'm not planning on making her a damsel in distress and starting her off with just… knowing what to do/how to fight would be too easy/mary-sue-ish. 
> 
> Growth will be ~slow and steady~.
> 
> And also, she shall be having more and more opportunities to be using her fruit soon. (I've had a couple people wanting her stronger or, at the very least, using her fruit a lot more. It's just that I don't want to make it the end-all-be-all.) In other news--
> 
> So, every five to ten chapters or so, I've been going back and rereading (skimming) the old stuff to see what things I've already written, alluded to, or set up in previous chapters. Because I'm forgetful. This is also the first time I've done so with an intensely critical eye over the interpersonal relationships and actions of each character, so I can try and see if there's any conflict I can touch upon, any loose ends, or anything that doesn't make sense and…
> 
> BOY. Do I see so many problems with this crew as is. And that's EXCLUDING obvious points of contention like Quinn's foreknowledge and everyone's self worth issues. I actually had to start a list because, while they're not major, they all make sense for each character as I've written them/intended of them, and are along the same vein AND make sense for the character at that point in time (which is how that woooorks) but… wow. 
> 
> They're all just stacking up. One after another. You can see it coming to a head in this chapter!!
> 
> First off. Quinn is way, way more unwittingly callous than I had realized. She has not been good at the moment (she has gone behind Ace's back multiple times and ouch, that's not good). And it's entirely due to her personality and what I had intended to be a significant part of her character which I am just ~loving~ btw. And, by that, I mean that I intended for her to: a) think that pride was an idiotic concept, and b) have pretty utilitarian views, and c) apathetic and not entirely emotionally intelligent enough to relate to people in certain topics, and, finally, d) she thinks she knows better or, at least, she thinks her way is the correct way.
> 
> Second. Kat, and this is probably the most obvious one, is steadily becoming extremely biased within the crews interpersonal relationships due to Quinn's outreach and support/building of a brother-sister type relationship. Which- is not good, since it's not currently geared towards his Captain. Other than, maybe, the fact, that Quinn's own loyalties lie with Ace.
> 
> Third. Spice has sort of been alienating himself from the others. Primarily due to his treatment of Quinn. As in, Kat doesn't see it as much more than bullying; Ace doesn't like that it appears that Quinn agrees with most of what Spice says about her, especially the negative things; and Quinn's own attitude has caused Spice to get pissed off because she doesn't defend herself.
> 
> I'm honestly a little stumped.
> 
> (I am having so much fun writing this and I was not expecting thattt. Sorry, I'm kinda fanboy/girl-ing over all of this right now, can't help myself!!)
> 
> Because while I did intend half of these things- I didn't realize, until now, how actually problematic some of it is. (some weren't supposed to be points of conflict!) I don't know. I'm just airing my thoughts a bit here. Do you ever realize that, in hindsight, things that were supposed to be good or be funny or meant to balance things out can cause a lot of conflict in other, newer routes? I currently have no clue how to go about solving them *cough cough* or am totally going to exacerbate them.
> 
> If you want a list of specific moments in the last couple chapters I'm referring to, let me know- I can attach it to a reply on your comment!
> 
> Also, just to be clear, Crocus doesn't like Quinn because she's clearly hiding things, not being one hundred percent truthful, and is being manipulative (he's correct). But he also doesn't really understand what her motivations are, so I wanted to write it mostly from his perspective because he's viewing her differently from the others and more like she's an antagonist. And him asking Ace to tell her is 100 percent him trying to get Ace to notice and, also, if he wants a trustworthy crew, he thinks there should be a certain level of transparency since they- you know, might betray him if they were to find out who his father is.
> 
> Also, I didn't say what Rogers sickness is because, one, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS and, two, because finding out wasn't really the point of this chapter.


	20. Flamenco Skies I: Welcome to Flamenco Skies! The Stairway To Heaven Is Revealed!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the Grand Line! It took us forever to get here but we're finally here. And the first island on the list goes by the name Flamenco Skies~ An aviary far beyond the reach of normal humans, of music and festivities, of thieves and kings, and the Spade Pirates find themselves at the dead center of it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The theme/song of this island, because this is one of the islands I'm most exciting about writing (I had this island in mind since chapter one) and I couldn't help but pick one out, is: Oasis - Guitarra Azul. 
> 
> Which I recommend playing towards the end of this chapter.

"Listen up," Quinn clapped her hands, standing up on the railing of the ship, which- now that she was up there, she was just now realizing what a bad idea it was because keeping her balance was… definitely trying, "I've got important info to share about the Grand Line that you should all keep in mind if we want to survive."

It's actually a little cute how they all perk up at her announcement. Makes her feel like a guest speaker before a class of… well, kindergartners, but she means that in the nicest possible way.

She smiles. Oh so innocent children, none-the-wiser to the hardships at hand.

-Sue her, she's being dramatic but hey! She's allowed to be. Kind of. Okay, so she doesn't really know what she's getting into either, not really, but she's probably better off than even Kat's vague childhood memories.

She raises her hands, clenched, and then opens them as she drops her wisdom: "Shit's wack."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Aa, she's struck them speechless.

"... _Hah?!"_

"You heard me." She huffs, hands on her hips. She'd exchanged her normal clothing for something more heavy duty already- for once, even, she was wearing pants instead of shorts. A tough, thick material that made a chafing sound with every step but, hel _looo~_ it was waterproof and had a significant amount of pockets, so that was hardly noteworthy in her mind. Even if it was a bit of an ugly grey color with slightly yellowish, thick geometric lines around her hips, thighs, knees, and ankles. She'd coupled it with a baggy yellow-orange muscle shirt that she'd bought from the same place as Kat's alien shirts, which was why it had an ironic 'Out Of This World!' phrased across it, over a heavy black tank top, tucked into her belt; a pair of rubber, waterproof boots with purple laces that matched the ones on her compression sleeves, and her hair done up with a similarly colored scrunchy to keep it out of her face. All in all, it was an outfit that she planned to _absolutely ruin_ with the weather of this place alone but, by the gods, would she be comfortable and prepared whilst doing so. "This place is going to hit us and hit us hard. So we should be prepared for any and all of its weirdness- best way to do that, in my personal opinion, _just go with it!"_

She falters when she sees that they're all staring up at her blankly.

"...Guys? Why am I losing you here?"

She watches as Spice makes a face and Ace frowns at her feet, brow furrowing. Apparently, they're still completely stalled from her starting announcement because Quinn is one-hundred percent sure she just saw a bewildered and absolutely flabbergasted-looking Ace mouth the words 'shit's wack'.

"Guys, c'mon."

Neither of them seem willing to say what has them on a hang-up. Thankfully, Kat has no such qualms. "Do you mean… _wack_ as in, it's going to wack us really hard or something?"

All three of them can't help but wince as they see something like hope- that they hadn't even realized was there in the first place- die on her face.

"I…" Oh, they winced even harder, it was like watching a cloud of gloom form above her head. "I guess you guys wouldn't have heard that term used like that before, huh?" She mutters, despairingly. Once again, being hit over the head with the differences between her and them, all the way down to their pop culture and even, hell, their lexicon because… Just ugh. She wants to groan and curl up into a ball. "Don't worry about it. It just means that- stuff's crazy, man? The Grand Line is crazy and _weird_ and sometimes it's going to suck really bad. And sometimes it's going to be cool and sometimes it's just going to straight up not make any sense and…"

She shrugs, hopping down from the railing and is impossibly relieved now that she doesn't feel the wood shifting beneath her feet anymore. That had been a bad idea. "Well, don't get hung up on it? At least not in the moment. 'Cause stuff here gets wild and if you tried to explain everything in a way that makes… any _logical_ sense compared to the rest of the world? You'd be stuck here for the rest of your lives."

"That seems like an exaggeration." Spice grunts from where he sits and her gaze snaps over to him. "I'm sure it makes some amount of sense."

"Maybe if you turn your head and squint," Quinn snorts, "the only logic to be found is despairingly vague or just illogical in itself. It's almost like some guy is just writing a story and throwing stuff together for either fun, plot convenience, or because he thinks it's cool. Well-written and creative? Yes. Logical and easy to understand? Give and take."

That's an oddly specific comparison.

"Kat, back me up here."

"Quinn's right." He says, unsure if she actually is- it's just the world, isn't it? He doesn't think it's so backwards. A bit of human sized hail and random cyclones was normal, wasn't it? It was the East Blue that was weirdly calm.

And, really, the giant dolphins his mother used to tell him stories about weren't _so_ strange.

Look at Laboon for hell's sake!

"See?"

"That's not good enough. Kat would agree with you no matter what."

"Well, I don't know about _'no matter what'…"_

"He's only on my side so much because he knows that, _obviously_ , I'm always right. I could be wrong and I'd still be right." She taps a finger to her forehead as if she's dropping some knowledge on him. "Sorry, just the way it works."

"Uh- _huh."_

Spice's flat expression has her bemused. "You realize I'm joking, right?"

"Oh," he makes a disappointed sigh, "you're telling _those_ now?" He clicks his tongue. "...Unfortunate."

"He- _y_."

Ace still isn't over the phrase 'shit's wack' and it shows on his face. But- "No worries, Quinn! I'm sure we can handle it."

"See, that's actually the attitude I'm afraid of-"

"Don't be such a worrywart! Whatever chaos this sea throws at us, we'll be ready for it!"

On the one hand, Quinn is a little miffed by being waved off and knows that he's completely unprepared and completely unaware of what's coming. But, on the other hand, she _can't wait_ to see Ace's face when everything goes to shit- she's honestly surprised that it hasn't happened yet- and she doesn't really want to argue. So, she guesses, she'll just have to hold her tongue until the inevitable 'I told you so's.

"Need luck?"

"Nah." Ace.

"I'm sure I have enough naturally." Spice.

"Sure!" Kat. She loves him. The only one that listens to her.

She hangs her head as Ace turns to look off at the sea, already tapping marks of gold across her shoulders and hands because she knows she's going to need them, just… all of the luck she can get. Quinn grimaces at the mental hindrance that comes from keeping track of so many marks. It's weird- trying to describe it. Little notifications just waiting to ping.

She wonders, distantly, that if all of them got used up at once, if she'd vibrate like an alarm.

...She's- deleting that mental image from her brain.

"Aa, Luffy would be so jealous~" Ace grins, tossing himself over the railing, chin resting on his palm and legs thrown lazily behind him. Only balancing and keepin onboard by centering his gravity on his stomach. "Chehaha, I'm closer to the One Piece than he is! Still can't believe he wants to be _Pirate King_ …"

"Pirate King?"

Ace's shoulders jump in a sudden tension.

Spice tilts his head down at him, both brows raised in a muted shock that's a tad flabbergasted. "The little brother that you mentioned… he wants to be Pirate King?"

"Shit. I shouldn't have said that…" Ace grimaces, tugging on the brim of his hat. "Aa, yeah. Been sayin' it ever since he was a kid."

"That's a bit-"

Spice doesn't finish. Honestly, that's more than enough to still get his point across.

"Crazy, right?" Ace's smile is almost wistful. "But- ah! Only I can say that, it's his dream and, sure, I've teased him for it before but-"

Spice raises a hand to stop him. "You forget that I have siblings too. I know how it is, don't worry." It relaxes the defensive spiel that'd threatened to burst forth and Spice snickers quietly at him, causing Ace to blink- before his brow twitches in offense, mistaking it as making fun of him or Luffy, but Spice only grins. "You're a good older brother, aren't you?"

Ace flushes. "I…"

"Heh. I can tell."

"...I…" he falters and Spice's grin drops. "...I honestly don't know if I am. I try to be but… since it's _me_ , probably not."

Spice frowns.

That particular breed of negativity- that self-doubt burrowed deep within a person's psyche- with this crew, he was noticing a trend. Katsura's was a fragile brand, still healing with the possibility of something stronger building beneath his skin. Quinn's was an all-encompassing shroud that hung over her like a cloud that refused to be banished.

And Ace's was hidden, but not well enough. It was always jumping to a head, vulnerable, especially when someone took a second to look for it. Like someone had eclipsed his sunshine and swallowed up even the barest rays of light and, then, with a blink, it was gone-

Fading away as Ace's expression melted into something warmer with his thoughts stuck on his brother. There's a softness to his gaze that Spice had never seen on him before. "He's planning on setting sail in a couple years, I don't know if I told you?"

"You've mentioned it. A couple times now." Usually to Quinn, the only one who could stand to listen. Somehow. It was definitely one of her weirder qualities- because both Spice and Kat doubted that anyone else in the world would be able to listen to Ace's gushing and, you know, actually _listen._

(They could stand it once or twice. But when you've heard the same story of _'how my brother shot watermelon seeds at farmers like a gatling gun'-_ or _'Luffy beat his first bear by accident'-_ or ' _I stole Dadan's sake and Luffy swallowed the bottle, glass and all, to try and hide it when she came searching'-_ a couple dozen times, you start to grow a little sick of it.

Or, a normal person would.

At least Quinn was already known to be clearly not a 'normal' person. Really. What sort of eldritch abomination did she make a deal with to gain _that_ particular brand of patience?)

She seemed to make due.

It was a bit incredible actually.

Spice tries to hide his groan as Ace descends into a rapid fire tale involving his brother, his brothers rubbery limbs, and his brothers startling idiocy and, frankly, otherworldly creativity with what was likely an incredibly well-hidden combative instinct and battle intelligence that just screamed "raw potential"- somehow all wrapped up in a story featuring a giant tiger, a bunch of bandits, and a garbage heap. And Ace getting nearly crushed to death by a tree? Apparently?

He'd already checked out, not quite knowing how all the details fit together without context. If he asked Quinn, she'd probably know but- he didn't know if he even _did_ want to know.

"...hey, Kat. You know what's going to happen, don't you?"

Speaking of, Quinn is staring at Kat with wide, desperate eyes that are just _begging_ him for a good answer.

"Oh, yeah. But what's coming- that's normal, isn't it?"

Good answer has been found!

Unfortunately, not without… _concerns._

"N-No, no it's not."

"Huh."

Quinn doesn't know whether to be afraid or relieved.

"Hey, I wouldn't worry too badly, Quinn! I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

Of course, that's when Katsura realizes that the ship has been turned completely around.

"Ah, shit."

-0-

A crash. Kat hangs onto the side of the ship, desperate to get out of the suddenly freezing water. It's borderline hypothermic- he can hardly feel his toes and aa _aa_ , it had even begun to seep under his skin! A quivering mess with a blue tinge to his gils, now that he's leapt from the sea and to safety he can feel the color beginning to return back to him.

The sudden shift in temp is shocking to the system. He's surprised that they're not dealing with windstorms from the clashing climates. It hadn't even been a second before he noticed the sudden, painfully cold, sharp change nipping at him-

That was- It was just _impossibly_ sudden.

"Yikes. Y-Yikes." He chatters, trying to rub warmth back into himself as his breath comes out in bright white puffs of air. "We just entered an arctic zone or so-s-something…!"

The proper terminology escapes him. 'Cold as balls' is close enough though.

"You okay down there?" Spice calls from above, leaning over the railing and… ignoring the apparently cackling Ace as bursts of flames shoot out from over his head. From the dripping and sudden slickness rolling down the side of the ship, Kat was willing to bet that Ace was having a field day- having an excuse to throw his fruit powers around. Not that he really needed one.

"Y-Yeah," Kat's voice continues to stutter with chills, and he ignores the look that Spice sends him, like he's two seconds away from passing him a cup of hot cocoa and- actually… that sounds kind of nice; what was he saying again? "There's some evidence of thermal vents in the area 'cause I definitely saw some sharks living deep, deep down there and it would be too cold for them otherwise… I'm gonna need to be on the lookout for some bad currents up ahead and I'm worried that the winds over here are going to turn dangerous." He stammers.

The last thing they needed was whirlpools, supercurrents, or cyclones. But Kat wouldn't discount them as a possibility.

So stuck in his own head, mulling over his thoughts and slightly panicky because of the 'oh shit, I'm the navigator, I have to account for all of this' realization suddenly hitting him in fullforce, Kat nearly misses Spice's hum. "Oh, you're forgetting one thing by the way."

"Huh? What's that?"

"Icebergs."

"Wha-?"

Kat looks ahead and screams.

Nothing like some good ol' fear to kick the crew into action, huh?

"What is this?! The Titanic?!"

…

…

This time it's a thud.

All of them, but especially Quinn, _stare_ with wide eyes.

It's kind of hard not to actually.

The large chunk of ice- the size of a large toddler, maybe- had fallen just inches away from what would have probably been a very painful knock to the head. If fleeting. _Because she would be dead-_ As she was sure it would have knocked her out, if not killed her outright, given its size.

Damn. It could _barely_ be called inches too. Quinn felt it was more like centimeters. And those were the kind estimates because it had come down at an adjacent angle and she'd definitely, definitely felt her hair move as it went by. "I am so-" she wheezes, arbitrarily breathless from just the heart attack, but the crashing wild waves and the intense rocking of the ship that made it a struggle to keep her feet were not helping either. " _-so_ glad that I had a final luck mark for that."

She'd be dead in a ditch without this fruit, she was sure.

Ugh, not even hit in the head yet and she's already starting to feel a little light headed, especially when Katsura points and says, in what should be noted is his 'commanding navigator' voice: "I've got news, guys! We got big-ass hail from the sky!"

She supposes that's the scientific term, huh.

"We can see that, Kat."

"We gathered that much."

A gasp from Spice, faked. "No, _really?!"_

Kat sniffs.

"...I just wanted to feel included. You guys don't have to be mean."

Quinn simply shudders with all the force of someone feeling a spider crawling on their skin. "How should we-"

Whatever she had been planning to say, she won't end up remembering.

Another thud.

This time followed by a thump.

The trio of boys all gape.

Then winced.

"Ooh, that's gotta hurt."

Because, this time, Quinn unfortunately _does_ lie unconscious from a piece of hail. Thankfully not as big as the one before, but enough to draw a startling pool of blood beneath her head.

…

…

Quinn, resting her painfully throbbing head against the bar counter, slumped over in her seat, almost misses the noise. She would have, if she actually had been sleeping, but she can't find any slumber because of the pulsating reminder of her skull being _nearly cracked open_ so she definitely hears it.

It starts off with someone taking in a quiet intake of air, the sound of someone dropping from a hammock- after all, it was night, and all of them, except for Spice who was on watch, should be sleeping- and hitting the floor with light steps that, just based off the sound, she guessed was supposed to be tiptoeing.

She remains unmoving, simply listening to the person move about behind her, over to her and- she feels fingers brush across her face and lift her hair up, checking if she was actually asleep, and she studiously fights back the urge to blink her eyes open and take a look at whoever was up.

Though, based on the sounds of the feet moving to her right and the sound of the fridge door opening, she thinks she could hedge her bets.

She finally lifts her head and it's a… losing battle trying to keep the amusement out of her voice.

"...What are you doing, Ace?"

Caught red-handed, the thief freezes in his tracks, swallowing the mouthful of food he'd had squirrelled away in his cheeks, looking not unlike a chipmunk.

A wide eyed, not-at-all-guilty looking chipmunk.

She winces at her own breathless laugh.

He just feels bad that he'd gotten caught! "Oh, Ace… you're just full of bad ideas, aren't you?" She can't help but ask. Because this can only end in disaster. What had he planned to do in the morning when Spice inevitably noticed the food missing?

He kept a list! _Quinn_ kept a list!

Ace breaks out into a cold sweat, glancing towards the door that separated them from Spice. "-Th… This is all a dream, you're just dreaming- sh shh-"

Wow, she knows she must look sleepy with the whole 'concussed' thing going on but she thought he'd try better than that.

"-go back to sleep, Quinn."

She would fucking _cackle_ if she thought her head could handle it.

"How can I "go back" to sleep if I'm already dreaming?"

"Aa."

He clearly hadn't thought that one all the way through.

"Hm, well, I'll tell you what- make me a sandwich and maybe I won't call for our lovely, dear _Spi_ -!" He lunges forward, slapping a hand over her mouth, though he's careful of her aching head, she takes note with a grateful look in her eyes; her voice having risen a couple octaves towards the end there.

"Okay, okay!" He hissed, even more sweaty and panicky than he was before. "I'll make you a sandwich just- uck!"

She licked his hand.

(Quinn is very concussed right now.)

"Did you just-?!"

"Careful, now I have the taste of human flesh- if you don't hurry, you might start looking like a snack."

"Blackmailing your Captain now? I can't believe you."

"Yes, aren't I just a despicable little pirate?"

For good measure, she sticks her tongue out at him. It's just the right amount of silliness that it wipes the disgusted look off of Ace's face and turns it into something fond that she, admittedly, has a bit of trouble looking at. She puts her head back down on the counter as Ace rustles around to try and hide the self-consciousness now burning inside her. "...Ham." She adds on, as an afterthought and giggles as Ace curses and peaks an eye open to see his first attempt end up stuffed into his mouth. That one had been turkey.

The finished product is a sloppily put together piece with too much mustard and too little meat- likely because he was stealing slices before they even made it to the bread- and looks like it'd fall apart if she tried to pick it up.

"Thank you."

It's one of the best things she'd ever tasted.

Oh, it's terrible, don't get her wrong. The mustard burns her taste buds and the lack of filling is horrendous but still-

"I've never actually made a sandwich before… we usually just ate it all separated. Or, you know, just smashed it together and had it in one bite."

"Really? I couldn't even tell."

Ace visibly brightens. Too tired himself to notice the lie, especially as she's careful to keep a sarcastic or teasing tone out of her voice.

-it's absolutely delicious.

It makes her almost feel bad. But her sense of humor wins out in the end.

"So you won't tell Spice then?"

She pats him on the cheek, just shy of condescending as she smirks. "Oh, Ace…" he falters, suddenly paling as he glimpses something in the reflection of her slightly glazed over eyes, "I don't need to. After all…"

"I've already seen you."

_"Spice?!"_

It was already much too late by the time Ace had reached the fridge. A midnight snack was fine. A midnight dine-and-dash though? Ace should learn to not be so greedy. Especially on his own ship.

Quinn delights in the sight of Spice grasping a well-placed broom and chasing a yelping Ace all the way back to his bed, tossing a snack at his forehead and telling him that was all he was going to get for the next morning too if he tried to steal from the fridge again.

"Oh, and Quinn?"

"Yes?"

"Don't indulge his sneaking around."

"I would _never._ " She lies, blatantly. Taking a bite out of her terrible, wonderful sandwich.

Spice rolls his eyes, muttering something about Ace's dietary plan clearly not covering enough calories if he still wanted a midnight snack. Quinn thinks it had more to do with Ace's metabolism being on overdrive twenty four seven but, if that truly was the case, she was sure Spice would arrive at that conclusion soon himself.

"...Hey, Quinn."

"I'll grab you some dried fruits. But that's _it._ "

Ace certainly looks cheered up by that prospect.

Ow. Her head hurts.

…

…

Spice takes a deep meditative breath as he waits for the sounds of the others to join him. Quinn and Kat. There's a whetstone waiting in front of him, cleaning supplies, and treatment options for blades. Kat didn't need the lesson, not _really,_ since he already knew how to do it but, when Spice had offered to teach Quinn, he'd insisted on joining despite already knowing how to take care of his own weaponry.

"Hey, it's always good to get a reminder!"

Quinn did not come with the same perks.

In fact, she'd taken one look at his supplies and asked: "What is that?"

"It's a whetstone."

"Right..."

Which was telling.

"We're here." Quinn sighs, dropping into a seat across from him, with a skipping Kat not far behind her. It was the first break they'd found in the day, between the onslaught of weather and just general life on the ship, all their shoulders were tense with stress and paranoia- waiting for the inevitable drop or rise in temperature that would give way to nasty, wild weather that they were all just _so done_ with.

It wouldn't have been so bad, if their route had ended with an island a day in, but it was the third day already and everyone was tired. Maybe getting two to three hours on average of sleep before they were up again, battling the choppy seas and near passing out standing up because they weren't even really able to switch out with each other since they needed all hands on deck. The issues with only having four crewmembers and a ship that was easy to capsize due to it's small size.

But as tired as all of them were, they were still filled to the brim with a giddiness that said none of them regretted sailing into the Grand Line's seas.

"Where's Ace?"

"Napping. The lack of sleep and schedule- it's really messing with his narcolepsy."

And that was putting it lightly.

Ace was like a dead man walking around. A ghost, even. It was almost funny, in a turn your head and squint kind of way. He was always popping up out of nowhere and scaring the shit out of someone and then disappearing again. Or, even worse, he fell asleep up in the crows nest- which they were starting to figure out was one of his favorite places on the ship- and was liable to fall all the way back down to deck. _That_ had ended up with a couple too many close calls and Spice and Kat getting very good at listening to Quinn's callouts, which were always on point.

(She was very proud of that fact, actually.

It was starting to become an instinct- a somewhat creepy one, admittedly- always knowing when Ace was awake, asleep, or on the verge of sleep, or about to be hit by a narcolepsy attack.

But it was beyond helpful. Because she could see the lurch in his step, the blink and slackening of his eyes, and the tension in his back and was able to figure out the moment before it happened when an attack was coming on. From there, all she needed was a shout and to take a couple steps forward. Most of the time.

Sometimes they just weren't able to rush fast enough.)

"So, do we have everything? Because I honestly can't tell," Quinn glances down at the setup on deck, her still sheathed tanto lying across her lap. "I've never done this before."

Yes, he'd gathered that much.

"First off, have you got a name?"

"...Quinn Varela?"

"For your _sword_ , dingus."

She makes an offended noise.

(Had anyone ever even called her a dingus before? Maybe in _first grade_ or something.)

"Why does my sword need a name?"

Spice huffs, "I've already told this to Kat, who has-"

"I've named mine, Quinn! It was kinda hard to think of one that fit… it might take you awhile too?"

"Which is fine, however-" He pulls his own sword free, the broad blade gleaming in the morning light. "-names hold meaning. Whether it's a tribute-"

His own.

"-a memento-"

Katsura's.

"-or some other third thing."

Quinn.

"They're important. It's what separates a weapon from being just another item and makes it a _sword_. A proper one. It means you respect it, you connect with it, and that you're prepared to allow it to be an extension of yourself-" They eye the blade with slightly wide eyes. "A weapon is just a means to an end, but a blade-a _sword._ That is something that only cuts when the wielder allows it.

It's discipline. And honor. And, while you could manage just fine without naming your blade, it will always just remain a _toy_ in your hands."

Quinn doesn't know what to say to that. Her mind is a little blown that he'd said even _that_ much because she didn't know there was that much to say.

...It was a bit intimidating. Not that she would ever admit that to him.

"I thought swords were supposed to come with a name."

"Famous ones." Spice snorts. "But do these look like famous swords to you?"

"Sure as hell ain't Wado Ichimoji." Quinn grumbles, failing to take note of Spice sending her a surprised and mildly impressed look.

"You know more than I thought you would…"

"A name then?"

"A name."

She chews on her lip. Sparing a glance towards Kat and contemplating just asking for his thoughts before deciding against it, based on Spice's flat look she was guessing that this was something he wanted her to do on her own- without any outside influences.

"You don't have to come up with one right this sec-"

"Yellow Jacket."

"Huh?"

"That's their name: ** _Yellow Jacket._** "

The raised brow Spice sends her tells her that he notices the pun.

Does he appreciate it though? ...lil' bit.

It's fairly on the nose. More descriptive than anything and, honestly, she thinks it both fits and is good enough to keep, despite her coming up with it on the fly and even if she couldn't get any more literal unless she named it Bumble Bee.

Spice shrugs and then lifts up the whetstone, letting that be that, and asks, "Tell me, what's this for?"

"Uhh… Sharpening?"

"Good. Now, when should you use it? And when _shouldn't_ you?"

That's a harder question for her to answer.

Surprisingly, Spice is a good teacher. Or, perhaps, that's not so surprising considering his relationship with his younger sisters but he's succinct, to the point, and doesn't pretend to think that she knows more than he thinks she does- clarifying whatever he assumed would be a new topic to her as he went through the cleaning and sharpening supplies. But here's the thing-

He does it _without being condescending._

Shocking, she knows.

Especially 'cause it's Spice.

She half expects him to start jabbing her with a stick again. Thankfully though, he doesn't, and she thinks it's only partly because Katsura is there. Because there's still a… tense atmosphere, not just from ocean-related paranoia, but it's definitely more settled than what it was.

"Thanks. For this." She rubs the back of her neck, fingers unconsciously finding the back of her freshest scar. "Did I thank you for the sword? I don't know if I did."

He waves her off.

And it's semi-comfortable for a while- of course, that's when a mini-cyclone touches down inches from the deck of their ship. The resulting screams are enough to have all their ears ringing.

…

…

Ace breathes out slow, adrenaline pumping through his veins and a strong urge to bounce on his heels slowly growing. He doesn't. More for the fact that a warm back is pressed against his and keeping him centered as they look out over the chaos on deck.

"This is so weird…"

"Tell me about it."

They must cut a cool figure. Quinn and Ace, back to back, him with a flaming hand and one of hers glowing gold as her other reaches back to grip her tanto- Yellow Jacket-their shoulders tense and frowns etched deep onto their faces. The expression that Quinn sports is one of being already _so_ done with this whole situation and Ace's burns with an edge of barely concealed excitement behind a determined gleam.

"Something tells me they're not friendly… but hm- I don't know _quite_ what it is." Quinn mutters, brow twitching. "Just really- I have _zero clue_ why I think that. It couldn't possibly be the swords, could it? No, no, _definitely_ not the swords."

"Well, whatever it is," it sounds like Ace is struggling to keep laughter out of his voice, "ready up."

What else would they be doing whilst completely surrounded?

Hardly a couple days in and the Grand Line was already hitting them hard.

Raided by sword-wielding octopuses- sorry, _octopi._

Just…

What.

…

…

Ace thunks his head down onto the counter, limbs heavy and eyes drooping. He wants to sleep. To nap and just- rest for a while because even as good as he is, even he can only handle so much before it starts to really weigh down on him.

Kat giggles a little at the sight.

He groans. Excessively audible. Receiving a pat on the back for his troubles. "It's okay, Ace. Couple more hours and then you can go to sleep!"

See: The difficult part of dealing with narcolepsy, especially for someone like Ace, who has to stay up to keep the ship moving efficiently in conjunction with everyone else, is that one of the ways of actually managing it, and the one that's proven to be the most helpful for Ace personally, was sleeping on a schedule.

Well, a schedule that's a bit of a struggle to maintain considering that narcolepsy lives almost solely to mess with it. Causing bouts of unwanted insomnia or long spells that simply make it harder and harder to fall asleep when he's actually _supposed_ to.

"So…"

Quinn drawls, voice slow and almost sing-song.

Ace groans even more.

"I s'pose that now would be an _excellent_ time for I told you so." She smirks, despite the clear bags under her eyes, more like deep bruises from her own lack of sleep. "Don't you think?"

Ace can't help, brow twitching, the thought: ' _She is such a brat,'_ hitting him. But neither can he help the tired smile that almost lazily grows on his face, hidden by his ducked head.

"Eat your takoyaki."

"Nah, I'm good. You can have it."

"Really?!"

She doesn't even see his hands launch out and steal her food.

Katsura doesn't stick around them for long, shaking his head at their antics and more amused than anything. Fingers absentmindedly playing with the strap of his log pose, making sure that he's still able to see the needle in his peripheral even as he doesn't pay it much attention. The needle, when they had first arrived, had been incredibly shaky but it had still pointed to their destination. Now though? It was a stable point indicating their pathway that moved only when he himself, or the ship, as it was bound to do, turned around.

He closes his eyes as he opens the door out onto deck, sucking in a deep inhale of the brisk air outside. It was chilly, that much was obvious, and he half expected it to snow- even if he didn't think that they would be stumbling upon a winter island. But, given the weather, he wouldn't be surprised if there was somewhere up ahead that winter reigned, far beyond the horizon but still close enough to affect the general area.

He blinks his eyes open slowly. Half of him is waiting for a drop of water to fall on his face and signal rain, hail, or some other climate. The last couple hours of the day, they hadn't been as rough as they could've been, and Katsura hopes that that- in conjunction with the needle shaking less- was a sign that meant the first island was soon upon them.

He lets the chill settle over him- It was better now that he wasn't suffering from taking an unwanted dip in hypothermic waters- and he almost misses it. He _would've_ missed it, if he hadn't been looking up.

"Hey… what _is_ that?"

There's no one to answer the question.

Quinn and Ace are inside with Spice, who's concentrating on cooking sheets and sheets of takoyaki and so isn't exactly in the frame of mind to speak or listen to anyone, too stuck in his work. So the question falls as a rhetorical before long, not that it would matter much if someone _had_ answered him.

"Wha…"

Because the flash of color among the startling white of the clouds drifts and sways and falls down towards him.

It takes a while, he's lucky that the ship was already heading towards it in the first place, to catch up with it as it falls; flipping and tumbling over itself, it's weight catching the wind and nearly sending it shooting away and out of reach. He narrowly manages to snap a hand upwards, fingers clutching it before it can get tugged away by its own descent and, subsequently, smashing it in his own grip.

It's broken when he opens his hands. The shaft bent and folded over on itself and, if he wasn't holding it by his thumb still, he was sure that it would fall into two snapped pieces.

It's still obvious what it is though.

"A… feather…?"

A bright pink one, for the most part. It's colored by a gradient of white towards the bottom, the downy barbs a stark color that stands out against the green and pale color of his hands.

He stares, turning it over in muted curiosity.

He's not good with animals. In fact, he can't think of any kind of bird off the top of his head that has pink feathers, he's sure one exists but the name doesn't come to mind and… the feather is awfully large. Even bent and smooshed and folded like it was, it was still as large as his head.

Kat glances up, wondering if there's some bird flying around that he'd missed and, instead, gasps.

"That's-!"

He can't even say it out loud. Can't put a singular word to it.

And he didn't know how he hadn't noticed, even with his gaze fixed on the feather in his hand instead of around him, because it was just-

Like snow, fluttering pink feathers drift from the sky. Impossibly slow and glinting off the light from the sun, casting pink shadows across the world.

It was like cherry blossoms that fell upon a pond every spring. Melting, fluttering pink petals that flooded the seas with their bright, elegant colors. The only thing missing from the image was the iridescent backs of koi swimming beneath the surface but the white sands beneath the clear pink water more than made up for it- colors of red and orange speckling the deep, filled with starfish and coral and sea urchin that shifted just beneath. It was like a dance that the feathers performed as they fell in tandem, a pink bloom from the clouds above that looked as if someone had painted the very sky itself.

And swaying above the small island that they were fast approaching, the only sound that broke through the imagery and revealed it as its own reality- was the creak and moan of a bright red ladder. Metal, flexible cords that moved with the winds that howled above the white, tiny patch of land and the ladder- catching the sunlight and gleaming with sparkling rungs- reached far upwards, disappearing into the clouds. Somewhere that, even if he strained his eyes, he could not see beyond.

There's a click.

Small, quiet. And if he hadn't been witness to the breathtaking sight that had made his own heart stop in his chest, then he would've missed it.

The log pose spins. Magnetic fields are recorded.

And a new location is chosen.

Kat remains gaping, not knowing quite how to respond.

The needle, losing the stability it had just received, shakily points upwards. Into the pink, downy heavens above them all.

.

.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a shorter chapter than usual, mostly for organizations sake, since this is more of a transition chapter than anything! The next chapter may take awhile- it's probably going to be really long and I want to make sure that it come out good- I started school again so most of my time is focused on that.
> 
> (I've also been having a lot of problems with AO3 lately, which I think most people were too, so sorry if it's taken me a while to reply to you comments since last chapter- just know that I have been reading them all and I love them all so, so much!)
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed though!
> 
> I added Quinn's outfit to the end of this chapter, she'll be wearing it for awhile. And, on my tumblr- terrutt- there's a couple more new doodles.


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